Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and El Jadida

For one person, living is cheaper in El Jadida: $621 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 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
30

Cost of Living Index in El Jadida
Learn more

El Jadida Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

El Jadida

🇲🇦 Morocco

$621

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in El Jadida

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $621 in El Jadida.

Cebu $918
El Jadida $621

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $935 in El Jadida.

Cebu $1,409
El Jadida $935

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,250 in El Jadida.

Cebu $1,900
El Jadida $1,250

Living in Cebu is roughly 48% more expensive than in El Jadida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, El Jadida 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.83 MAD 27.58

9.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$20.87 MAD 203

16.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$6.08 MAD 59.3

-35.53%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.52 MAD 14.80

65.13%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.42 MAD 4.13

278.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.28 MAD 2.72

89.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.65 MAD 25.80

-32.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.60 MAD 25.32

-16.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.93 MAD 9.04

106.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.38 MAD 3.67

257.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.98 MAD 19.33

-48.99%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.84 MAD 17.94

10.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$6.33 MAD 61.7

55.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.89 MAD 37.95

12.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$7.61 MAD 74.2

-0.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.57 MAD 15.34

110.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.41 MAD 13.70

-1.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.65 MAD 6.31

258.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.70 MAD 6.80

114.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.72 MAD 7.06

227.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.51 MAD 4.97

272.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.30 MAD 2.90

296.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.52 MAD 5.09

21.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.96 MAD 38.64

-24.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$4.18 MAD 40.77

44.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.51 MAD 24.46

-51.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.95 MAD 28.78

-40.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.48 MAD 4.68

-47.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$16.82 MAD 164

-24.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.02 MAD 9.94

-24.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.01 MAD 9.80

-77.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$5.26 MAD 51.3

-15.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.47 MAD 14.33

-10.88%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$34.4K MAD 335.2K

-38.21%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$31.0K MAD 302.3K

-38.25%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$29.18 MAD 285

312.03%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$10.38 MAD 101

34.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$30.70 MAD 299

-10.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$28.75 MAD 280

12.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$11.84 MAD 115

-43.83%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$6.34 MAD 61.8

-10.88%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$114 MAD 1,112

141.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$3,165 MAD 30.9K

150.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$27.58 MAD 269

78.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$36.84 MAD 359

-31.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$65.3 MAD 637

17.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$69.5 MAD 677

-17.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$210 MAD 2,050

137.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$165 MAD 1,606

87.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$359 MAD 3,498

200.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$229 MAD 2,230

168.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,533 MAD 14.9K

88.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$782 MAD 7,628

144.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$470 MAD 4,581

-26.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.5

30.91%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for El Jadida: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

El Jadida

$165 26.6% 46.7% $144

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

El Jadida

$149 24.1% 27.4% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

El Jadida

$70 11.3% 56.6% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

El Jadida

$90 14.4% 4.6% $4.3

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

El Jadida

$80 12.9% 9% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

El Jadida

$41 6.7% 5% $2.2

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

El Jadida

$25 4% 59.2% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $210 in El Jadida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

El Jadida pays 36% 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 $21.00 in El Jadida for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $149 per month, with El Jadida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇲🇦 El Jadida

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

19:39 7:39 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

237,464

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu El Jadida 13,030 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
El Jadida

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 El Jadida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Jadida is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 48% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 36% lower in El Jadida. 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 $210 in El Jadida. 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 $621 in El Jadida – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in El Jadida runs roughly 33% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though El Jadida gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, El Jadida 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 El Jadida 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 El Jadida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.