Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and El Kef

For one person, living is cheaper in El Kef: $610 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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 Kef
Learn more

El Kef Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

El Kef

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $610 in El Kef.

Cebu $918
El Kef $610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $959 in El Kef.

Cebu $1,409
El Kef $959

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,308 in El Kef.

Cebu $1,900
El Kef $1,308

Living in Cebu is roughly 51% more expensive than in El Kef, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, El Kef 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$5.34 TND 15.99

-42.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$13.49 TND 40.39

79.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$4.55 TND 13.63

-13.85%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$0.65 TND 1.94

286.15%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.52 TND 1.55

205.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.24 TND 0.72

120.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$0.88 TND 2.65

102.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$0.98 TND 2.92

121.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.46 TND 1.39

317.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$0.20 TND 0.60

580.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$1.78 TND 5.34

-43.26%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.44 TND 4.30

40.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$15.02 TND 45.00

-34.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.41 TND 19.20

-31.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$14.67 TND 43.94

-48.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.59 TND 4.76

107.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.69 TND 5.06

-17.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.02 TND 3.06

128.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.57 TND 1.72

163.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.38 TND 1.14

521.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.19 TND 0.56

900.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.45 TND 1.36

164.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.29 TND 0.86

117.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.45 TND 10.32

-13.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$4.33 TND 12.98

39.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.70 TND 2.11

75.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$0.93 TND 2.77

88.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

$0.32 TND 0.95

-21.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$9.99 TND 29.93

26.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$0.31 TND 0.94

148.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$0.29 TND 0.87

-20.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$3.96 TND 11.87

12.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.83 TND 2.49

57.83%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$38.8K TND 116.3K

-45.28%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$36.7K TND 109.8K

-47.78%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$26.87 TND 80.5

347.45%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$10.57 TND 31.65

32.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$13.92 TND 41.70

97.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$27.30 TND 81.8

18.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$12.16 TND 36.42

-45.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.36 TND 10.05

68.15%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$61.2 TND 183

349.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$1,972 TND 5,905

301.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$23.11 TND 69.2

113.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$68.0 TND 204

-62.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$39.88 TND 119

92.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$78.3 TND 234

-26.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$208 TND 624

139.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$157 TND 470

96.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$365 TND 1,093

195.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$269 TND 804

129.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

$939 TND 2,813

207.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$628 TND 1,880

205.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$168 TND 504

105.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-34.55%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for El Kef: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

El Kef

$157 25.7% 49.2% $152

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

El Kef

$187 30.6% 9.4% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

El Kef

$51 8.4% 68.3% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

El Kef

$94 15.5% 0.2% $0.2

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

El Kef

$74 12.1% 16.7% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

El Kef

$34 5.6% 22% $9.6

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

El Kef

$13 2.1% 16.4% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $208 in El Kef. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 105% 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 $13.00 in El Kef for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $187 per month, with El Kef cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇳 El Kef

🕒 Local time

05:32 5:32 AM

22:32 10:32 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

73,710

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu El Kef 11,500 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
El Kef

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 Kef: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Kef is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 105% higher in Cebu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $208 in El Kef. 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 $610 in El Kef – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in El Kef runs roughly 27% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though El Kef gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, El Kef 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 Kef 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 Kef gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.