Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Gladstone

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,533 in Gladstone, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 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
123

Cost of Living Index in Gladstone
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Gladstone Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Gladstone

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,533

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Gladstone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $2,533 in Gladstone.

Cebu $934
Gladstone $2,533

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,423 in Cebu versus $3,459 in Gladstone.

Cebu $1,423
Gladstone $3,459

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,913 in Cebu versus $4,385 in Gladstone.

Cebu $1,913
Gladstone $4,385

Living in Cebu costs roughly 63% less than in Gladstone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 31% below, Gladstone is 86% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.79 ₱243

$17.68 A$25.14

-78.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.33 ₱1,493

$81.1 A$115

-71.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.94 ₱252

$11.89 A$16.91

-66.86%

Cappuccino

$2.54 ₱163

$4.13 A$5.87

-38.50%

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

$1.57 ₱100

$3.10 A$4.41

-49.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ₱29.87

$2.75 A$3.91

-82.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.77 ₱113

$7.52 A$10.69

-76.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ₱142

$9.28 A$13.20

-76.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ₱121

$1.52 A$2.17

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱87.3

$2.73 A$3.88

-50.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ₱59.9

$2.30 A$3.27

-59.13%

Eggs

$1.99 ₱127

$4.85 A$6.90

-58.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.70 ₱621

$9.23 A$13.13

5.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.32 ₱276

$9.21 A$13.09

-53.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.51 ₱481

$14.50 A$20.61

-48.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱212

$3.83 A$5.45

-13.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 ₱87.6

$3.12 A$4.44

-56.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ₱150

$3.30 A$4.69

-29.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱95.5

$4.67 A$6.64

-68.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 ₱147

$2.63 A$3.75

-12.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 ₱120

$2.38 A$3.38

-21.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₱70.4

$2.41 A$3.42

-54.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱40.42

$1.61 A$2.29

-60.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.86 ₱183

$41.88 A$59.6

-93.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.08 ₱389

$13.91 A$19.78

-56.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱81.6

$4.85 A$6.90

-73.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₱110

$5.35 A$7.61

-67.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱14.01

$2.83 A$4.02

-92.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱790

$84.8 A$121

-85.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱47.60

$4.02 A$5.72

-81.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱14.10

$1.39 A$1.98

-84.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 ₱274

$44.05 A$62.6

-90.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱83.8

$1.27 A$1.80

3.15%

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

$20.8K ₱1.3M

$26.9K A$38.2K

-22.75%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$24.9K A$35.4K

-23.59%

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

$118 ₱7,577

$205 A$291

-42.17%

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

$15.76 ₱1,009

$27.56 A$39.19

-42.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.33 ₱1,813

$54.4 A$77.3

-47.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.94 ₱2,108

$56.1 A$79.8

-41.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.49 ₱415

$17.63 A$25.07

-63.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.45 ₱349

$13.90 A$19.77

-60.79%

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

$276 ₱17.6K

$1,958 A$2,785

-85.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,789 ₱498.4K

$20.4K A$28.9K

-61.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.18 ₱3,083

$70.3 A$100

-31.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.47 ₱1,566

$62.5 A$88.8

-60.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.3 ₱4,817

$98.6 A$140

-23.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 ₱3,713

$123 A$174

-52.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$477 ₱30.5K

$1,381 A$1,964

-65.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 ₱20.6K

$1,223 A$1,739

-73.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 ₱61.6K

$1,370 A$1,948

-29.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$626 ₱40.0K

$1,465 A$2,083

-57.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,551 ₱291.2K

$5,583 A$7,939

-18.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,028 ₱193.8K

$4,980 A$7,081

-39.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$333 ₱21.3K

$5,599 A$7,962

-94.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.25

37.14%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Gladstone: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$322 34.5%

Gladstone

$1.2K 48.3% 280% $901

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$204 21.8%

Gladstone

$367 14.5% 80.2% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.4%

Gladstone

$287 11.3% 76.4% $124

Eating Out

Cebu

$94 10.1%

Gladstone

$306 12.1% 225% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$93 9.9%

Gladstone

$159 6.3% 71.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Gladstone

$84 3.3% 91.4% $40

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.6%

Gladstone

$107 4.2% 611% $92

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $477 in Cebu and $1,381 in Gladstone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gladstone pays about 17 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Cebu vs $81 in Gladstone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $367 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇦🇺 Gladstone

🕒 Local time

20:55 8:55 PM

22:55 10:55 PM

2 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

34,703

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

1 AUD = 0.703 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.22 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Gladstone 4,820 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Gladstone

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 Gladstone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 171% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 94% lower in Cebu. 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: $477 in Cebu versus $1,381 in Gladstone. 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 $2,533 in Gladstone – a 171% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 85% less than in Gladstone. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Gladstone 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 Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Gladstone. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.