Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Fort Portal

For one person, living is cheaper in Fort Portal: $388 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Fort Portal
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Fort Portal Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Fort Portal

🇺🇬 Uganda

$388

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Fort Portal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $388 in Fort Portal.

Cebu $918
Fort Portal $388

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $611 in Fort Portal.

Cebu $1,409
Fort Portal $611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $835 in Fort Portal.

Cebu $1,900
Fort Portal $835

Living in Cebu is roughly 136% more expensive than in Fort Portal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Fort Portal 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.53 UGX 10.4K

22.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$24.99 UGX 102.8K

-3.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.56 UGX 31.1K

-48.15%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.49 UGX 10.3K

0.80%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.36 UGX 1,475

341.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.26 UGX 1,066

103.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.26 UGX 5,169

41.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$1.83 UGX 7,530

18.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.29 UGX 1,184

562.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.78 UGX 3,207

74.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.02 UGX 4,202

-0.98%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.27 UGX 5,231

59.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$4.39 UGX 18.0K

124.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$4.67 UGX 19.2K

-6.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$3.30 UGX 13.6K

130.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.07 UGX 8,509

59.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.72 UGX 2,954

93.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.28 UGX 5,270

82.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.19 UGX 4,880

26.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.21 UGX 4,970

95.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.60 UGX 2,472

216.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.74 UGX 3,041

60.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.51 UGX 2,107

23.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.50 UGX 10.3K

20.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$4.84 UGX 19.9K

24.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.71 UGX 2,939

73.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.01 UGX 4,173

73.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.52 UGX 2,158

48.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.30 UGX 1,227

-23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$3.06 UGX 12.6K

45.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.24 UGX 5,103

5.65%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$7,493 UGX 30.8M

183.50%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$7,377 UGX 30.3M

159.55%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$71.3 UGX 293.1K

68.72%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$11.70 UGX 48.1K

19.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$34.97 UGX 143.8K

-21.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$7.44 UGX 30.6K

-24.06%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$254 UGX 1.0M

8.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$8,385 UGX 34.5M

-5.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$14.26 UGX 58.7K

245.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$12.82 UGX 52.8K

96.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$32.90 UGX 135.3K

133.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$44.59 UGX 183.4K

28.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

20.75

-65.30%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Fort Portal: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Fort Portal

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Fort Portal

$121 31.2% 41.1% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Fort Portal

$118 30.4% 27.1% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Fort Portal

$47 12.1% 49.9% $47

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Fort Portal

$85 22% 3.4% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Fort Portal

$15 * 3.8% 65.9% $29

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Fort Portal

$2 * 0.5% 87% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $25.00 in Fort Portal. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $121, with Fort Portal cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇺🇬 Fort Portal

🕒 Local time

12:30 12:30 PM

07:30 7:30 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

54,275

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.43 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.16 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4,113 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.43 USD). 1 EUR = 4,624 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.16 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Fort Portal 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Fort Portal

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 Fort Portal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fort Portal is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 136% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $583 in Fort Portal 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $388 in Fort Portal – a 136% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Fort Portal 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 Fort Portal 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 Fort Portal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 136% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.