Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $866 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $820 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $866 in Gaborone.

Cebu $934
Gaborone $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,301 in Gaborone.

Cebu $1,415
Gaborone $1,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,737 in Gaborone.

Cebu $1,896
Gaborone $1,737

Living in Cebu is roughly 8% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Gaborone 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$11.04 P 148

-72.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$29.11 P 390

-19.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$5.87 P 78.6

-30.32%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.37 P 31.70

6.33%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.71 P 9.45

116.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.44 P 5.87

11.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$1.98 P 26.47

-9.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.56 P 34.24

-11.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.47 P 19.66

32.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.87 P 11.59

64.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.98 P 26.48

-48.48%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.54 P 34.06

-18.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$6.45 P 86.4

52.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$4.77 P 63.9

-3.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$4.88 P 65.4

57.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.64 P 22.01

101.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.40 P 18.73

3.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.95 P 26.07

21.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.65 P 22.13

-6.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.31 P 17.53

80.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.15 P 15.40

73.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$1.28 P 17.20

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.93 P 12.50

-27.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$3.71 P 49.75

-19.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$4.39 P 58.8

44.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.43 P 19.23

-8.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.74 P 23.26

-0.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.67 P 9.00

-62.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$30.16 P 404

-58.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$0.64 P 8.60

15.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$2.61 P 35.04

-91.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$2.86 P 38.37

51.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.32 P 17.74

0.76%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$19.6K P 263.0K

10.89%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$19.9K P 266.4K

-2.42%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$60.2 P 807

100.33%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$19.85 P 266

-27.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$42.94 P 575

-34.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$34.16 P 458

-4.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$16.03 P 215

-60.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$5.98 P 80.1

-8.70%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$130 P 1,740

110.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$2,526 P 33.8K

222.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$48.16 P 645

2.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$16.58 P 222

50.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$74.0 P 991

3.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$78.3 P 1,049

-24.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$363 P 4,860

39.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$219 P 2,941

40.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$542 P 7,263

94.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$354 P 4,741

74.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$2,021 P 27.1K

44.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$1,252 P 16.8K

49.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$450 P 6,033

-24.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.33

-36.45%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Gaborone

$219 25.5% 29.1% $90

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Gaborone

$174 20.2% 17.4% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Gaborone

$123 14.3% 24.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Gaborone

$98 11.4% 3.2% $3

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Gaborone

$154 17.9% 74.1% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 5.8% $2.5

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Gaborone

$47 5.4% 202% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $363 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gaborone pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $29.00 in Gaborone. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $174, with Gaborone cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

15:28 3:28 PM

09:28 9:28 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.03 BWP (100 BWP = 6.65 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Gaborone 11,280 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Gaborone

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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is cheaper overall, especially in groceries. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Gaborone. 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: $506 in Cebu versus $363 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $866 in Gaborone – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Gaborone runs roughly 138% 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 Gaborone gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Gaborone 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 Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.