Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Darlington

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $1,669 in Darlington, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Darlington
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Darlington Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Darlington

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Darlington

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 Darlington actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $1,669 in Darlington.

Cebu $915
Darlington $1,669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $2,624 in Darlington.

Cebu $1,418
Darlington $2,624

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $3,580 in Darlington.

Cebu $1,921
Darlington $3,580

Living in Cebu costs roughly 45% less than in Darlington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 33% below, Darlington is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$14.91 £11.18

-79.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$60.8 £45.63

-60.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$9.29 £6.97

-57.05%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$3.48 £2.61

-28.16%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$2.39 £1.79

-35.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$1.95 £1.46

-74.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$4.59 £3.44

-61.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$4.33 £3.25

-49.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.24 £0.93

61.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.37 £1.03

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$2.40 £1.80

-57.08%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.63 £2.72

-44.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$7.64 £5.73

33.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$7.26 £5.44

-38.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$9.19 £6.90

-16.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.24 £2.43

2.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.24 £0.93

17.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$3.59 £2.69

-35.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$3.83 £2.88

-61.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$1.63 £1.22

43.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.73 £1.30

12.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$1.17 £0.87

-0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$1.08 £0.81

-37.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$22.02 £16.52

-86.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$9.13 £6.85

-31.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$2.14 £1.60

-42.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$3.04 £2.28

-43.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$2.73 £2.05

-91.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$84.5 £63.4

-85.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$4.09 £3.07

-80.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$16.19 £12.15

-71.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.93 £1.45

-31.61%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$20.1K £15.1K

4.44%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$31.2K £23.4K

-37.72%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$270 £203

-56.09%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$15.51 £11.64

-8.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$45.71 £34.29

-39.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$40.43 £30.33

-20.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

$6.79 £5.09

-4.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$6.57 £4.93

-17.81%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$814 £611

-66.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$65.4 £49.05

-24.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$56.4 £42.30

-56.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$112 £84.4

-31.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$113 £84.9

-47.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$669 £502

-24.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$536 £402

-43.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$1,474 £1,106

-27.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$1,198 £898

-47.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$2,444 £1,833

17.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

$2,747 £2,061

-87.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.61

28.34%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Darlington: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Darlington

$536 32.1% 75.9% $231

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Darlington

$255 15.3% 21.7% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Darlington

$331 19.8% 107% $171

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Darlington

$156 9.4% 65.8% $62

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Darlington

$238 14.3% 171% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Darlington

$54 3.2% 24.3% $10

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Darlington

$99 * 6% 557% $84

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $669 in Darlington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Darlington pays 718% 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 $61.0 in Darlington for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $255 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇬🇧 Darlington

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

11:45 11:45 AM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

92,363

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Darlington 11,200 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Darlington

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 Darlington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 83% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 718% lower in Darlington. 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: $503 in Cebu versus $669 in Darlington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $1,669 in Darlington – a 83% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 584% less than in Darlington. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $915 in Cebu versus $1,669 in Darlington, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Darlington. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Darlington, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Darlington 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 83% less than in Darlington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.