Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Dharwad

For one person, living is cheaper in Dharwad: $371 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Dharwad
Learn more

Dharwad Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Dharwad

🇮🇳 India

$371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Dharwad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $371 in Dharwad.

Cebu $918
Dharwad $371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $582 in Dharwad.

Cebu $1,409
Dharwad $582

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $792 in Dharwad.

Cebu $1,900
Dharwad $792

Living in Cebu is roughly 147% more expensive than in Dharwad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Dharwad 73% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$3.36 ₹319

-8.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$7.16 ₹680

238.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$4.21 ₹399

-6.89%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.59 ₹151

57.86%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.37 ₹35.23

329.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.11 ₹10.01

381.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.56 ₹148

14.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.22 ₹305

-32.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.67 ₹63.7

186.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.47 ₹44.20

189.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.62 ₹58.8

62.90%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.85 ₹80.4

138.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$4.14 ₹393

138.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.78 ₹264

57.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.91 ₹181

72.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.63 ₹59.5

120.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.94 ₹89.7

147.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.48 ₹45.73

212.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.32 ₹30.02

637.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.36 ₹34.58

427.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.47 ₹44.62

153.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.31 ₹29.46

103.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.38 ₹511

-44.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.27 ₹690

-17.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.41 ₹134

-12.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.40 ₹228

-27.08%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.93 ₹468

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.25 ₹23.59

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$7.80 ₹741

62.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.80 ₹75.8

-3.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.25 ₹24.12

-8.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.50 ₹142

197.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.18 ₹112

11.02%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$13.3K ₹1.3M

59.75%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$17.1K ₹1.6M

11.68%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$34.48 ₹3,275

248.69%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.09 ₹293

353.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$5.62 ₹533

390.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$13.87 ₹1,317

133.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$6.56 ₹623

1.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$2.95 ₹280

91.53%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$47.71 ₹4,531

477.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$1,388 ₹131.8K

470.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$24.78 ₹2,353

99.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$21.34 ₹2,026

18.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$42.91 ₹4,075

79.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$27.61 ₹2,622

107.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$122 ₹11.5K

311.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$73.6 ₹6,985

319.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$258 ₹24.5K

317.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$169 ₹16.0K

264.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$961 ₹91.3K

200.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$469 ₹44.5K

309.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

8.86

-18.74%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dharwad: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Dharwad

$74 19.8% 76.2% $235

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Dharwad

$97 26% 53% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Dharwad

$43 11.6% 73.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Dharwad

$52 14.1% 44.1% $41

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Dharwad

$75 20.1% 15.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Dharwad

$20 5.3% 54.7% $24

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Dharwad

$11 2.9% 30.3% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $122 in Dharwad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $7.00 in Dharwad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $97.0 per month, with Dharwad cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Dharwad

🕒 Local time

16:25 4:25 PM

13:55 1:55 PM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

100,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Dharwad 5,320 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Dharwad

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 Dharwad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dharwad is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 147% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $557 in Dharwad to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $122 in Dharwad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $371 in Dharwad – a 147% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dharwad runs roughly 62% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Dharwad gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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

Safety-wise, Cebu and Dharwad 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 Dharwad gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.