Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Carlton

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,287 in Carlton, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Carlton
Learn more

Carlton Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Carlton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,287

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Carlton

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cebu and in Carlton actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $2,287 in Carlton.

Cebu $918
Carlton $2,287

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $3,321 in Carlton.

Cebu $1,409
Carlton $3,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,355 in Carlton.

Cebu $1,900
Carlton $4,355

Living in Cebu costs roughly 60% less than in Carlton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Carlton is 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$17.71 A$25.48

-82.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$68.7 A$98.9

-64.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$9.96 A$14.34

-60.64%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.92 A$4.21

-14.04%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 ₱100

$2.63 A$3.78

-39.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$2.13 A$3.06

-75.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.76 A$9.73

-73.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$6.54 A$9.41

-66.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.32 A$1.90

45.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$2.05 A$2.95

-33.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$1.32 A$1.90

-23.48%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.20 A$4.60

-36.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$10.28 A$14.79

-4.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$9.99 A$14.38

-56.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$15.28 A$21.98

-50.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.32 A$4.78

-0.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.81 A$4.05

-50.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$3.20 A$4.60

-27.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$4.48 A$6.44

-66.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.46 A$3.54

-4.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.22 A$3.19

-14.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$2.13 A$3.07

-44.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.90 A$1.29

-30.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$25.25 A$36.33

-88.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$10.62 A$15.28

-43.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$5.74 A$8.26

-78.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$5.12 A$7.37

-65.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

$3.05 A$4.38

-91.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$80.9 A$116

-84.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$3.72 A$5.36

-79.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$1.26 A$1.82

-81.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$26.18 A$37.68

-82.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.36 A$1.95

-3.68%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$18.4K A$26.5K

15.38%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$13.8K A$19.9K

38.46%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$120 ₱7,573

$89.5 A$129

34.29%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.00 ₱882

$27.31 A$39.31

-48.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$45.80 A$65.9

-39.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$31.60 A$45.47

2.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$17.32 A$24.92

-61.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$12.96 A$18.64

-56.40%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$275 ₱17.3K

$2,061 A$2,965

-86.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$12.6K A$18.1K

-37.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$79.1 A$114

-37.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$49.37 A$71.1

-48.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$70.0 A$101

9.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$134 A$193

-57.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,391 A$2,001

-64.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$1,204 A$1,732

-74.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$2,150 A$3,093

-49.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$1,829 A$2,631

-66.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

$5,647 A$8,126

-48.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$5,209 A$7,496

-63.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$5,717 A$8,227

-93.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.9

22.03%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Carlton: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Carlton

$1.2K 52.6% 290% $895

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Carlton

$338 14.8% 64.4% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Carlton

$163 7.1% 0.5% $0.9

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Carlton

$150 6.5% 59.3% $56

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Carlton

$273 11.9% 209% $184

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Carlton

$58 2.5% 31.8% $14

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Carlton

$103 4.5% 562% $88

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $1,391 in Carlton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlton pays 1553% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $69.0 in Carlton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $338 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇦🇺 Carlton

🕒 Local time

03:23 3:23 AM

06:23 6:23 AM

3 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

19,001

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Carlton 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Carlton

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cebu vs Carlton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu and Carlton differ by about 149% in total monthly costs ($918 vs $2,287 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1553% lower in Carlton. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $1,391 in Carlton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $275 in Cebu versus $2,061 in Carlton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Carlton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,287 in Carlton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Carlton. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Carlton are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 149% less than in Carlton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.