Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Dong Hoi

For one person, living is cheaper in Dong Hoi: $750 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Dong Hoi
Learn more

Dong Hoi Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Dong Hoi

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Dong Hoi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $750 in Dong Hoi.

Cebu $918
Dong Hoi $750

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,218 in Dong Hoi.

Cebu $1,409
Dong Hoi $1,218

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,687 in Dong Hoi.

Cebu $1,900
Dong Hoi $1,687

Living in Cebu is roughly 22% more expensive than in Dong Hoi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Dong Hoi 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$2.06 ₫53.3K

50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$18.93 ₫490.1K

27.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$3.62 ₫93.7K

8.29%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.03 ₫26.6K

143.69%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.34 ₫8,876

367.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.32 ₫8,276

65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$0.53 ₫13.8K

235.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.27 ₫58.7K

-4.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.58 ₫41.0K

21.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$0.86 ₫22.2K

58.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$1.02 ₫26.5K

-0.98%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.50 ₫38.9K

35.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$12.86 ₫333.0K

-23.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.31 ₫85.6K

32.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.59 ₫248.2K

-20.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.58 ₫66.7K

27.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.15 ₫29.9K

20.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.32 ₫34.2K

76.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.59 ₫41.2K

-5.66%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.13 ₫29.4K

108.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.25 ₫32.4K

52.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.04 ₫26.9K

14.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.53 ₫13.8K

18.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.56 ₫40.5K

92.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$7.66 ₫198.3K

-21.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.86 ₫22.3K

43.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.10 ₫54.5K

-16.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

$0.34 ₫8,844

-26.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$6.65 ₫172.1K

90.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$1.04 ₫26.9K

-25.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$0.56 ₫14.6K

-58.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$2.38 ₫61.7K

87.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.94 ₫24.4K

39.36%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.8K ₫797.8M

-31.06%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$28.2K ₫728.8M

-31.99%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$66.2 ₫1.7M

81.73%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$6.21 ₫160.9K

125.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$8.00 ₫207.2K

244.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$22.13 ₫572.8K

46.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$7.89 ₫204.3K

-15.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.09 ₫80.0K

82.85%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$162 ₫4.2M

70.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$14.7K ₫381.3M

-46.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$44.69 ₫1.2M

10.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$28.03 ₫725.7K

-9.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$100.0 ₫2.6M

-23.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$80.7 ₫2.1M

-29.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$408 ₫10.6M

22.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$274 ₫7.1M

12.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$757 ₫19.6M

42.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$620 ₫16.0M

-0.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

$2,886 ₫74.7M

-0.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,309 ₫33.9M

46.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$408 ₫10.6M

-15.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

2.86%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dong Hoi: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Dong Hoi

$274 36.5% 11.3% $35

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Dong Hoi

$192 25.6% 6.9% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Dong Hoi

$80 10.7% 50.3% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Dong Hoi

$114 15.2% 21.4% $20

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Dong Hoi

$50 6.6% 43.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Dong Hoi

$28 3.8% 35.1% $15

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Dong Hoi

$12 1.6% 23.8% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $408 in Dong Hoi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dong Hoi pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $19.00 in Dong Hoi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $192 per month, with Dong Hoi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇻🇳 Dong Hoi

🕒 Local time

18:34 6:34 PM

17:34 5:34 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

91,601

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Dong Hoi 2,030 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Dong Hoi

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 Dong Hoi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dong Hoi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Dong Hoi. 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 $408 in Dong Hoi. 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 $750 in Dong Hoi – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dong Hoi runs roughly 90% 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 Dong Hoi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Dong Hoi 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 Dong Hoi 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 Dong Hoi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.