Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Grahamstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,121 in Grahamstown, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Grahamstown

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,121 in Grahamstown.

Cebu $918
Grahamstown $1,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,757 in Grahamstown.

Cebu $1,409
Grahamstown $1,757

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,392 in Grahamstown.

Cebu $1,900
Grahamstown $2,392

Living in Cebu costs roughly 18% less than in Grahamstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Grahamstown 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$10.85 R 179

-71.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$42.03 R 692

-42.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$6.06 R 99.9

-35.31%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.13 R 35.03

17.84%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.04 R 17.21

52.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.72 R 11.94

-26.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.76 R 45.45

-35.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.07 R 50.6

-29.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.12 R 18.45

71.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.01 R 16.57

34.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.45 R 23.86

-30.34%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.82 R 46.40

-28.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$8.78 R 145

12.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.25 R 86.5

-16.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.51 R 140

-10.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.19 R 36.07

50.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.47 R 24.17

-5.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.69 R 27.91

37.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.72 R 28.34

-12.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.67 R 27.50

41.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.37 R 22.55

38.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.30 R 21.36

-8.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$1.02 R 16.73

-38.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.20 R 52.7

-6.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$4.68 R 77.1

28.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.22 R 20.02

0.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.78 R 29.34

-1.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.54 R 25.32

-83.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.62 R 10.13

24.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.47 R 7.72

-51.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$8.17 R 135

-45.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.40 R 23.07

-6.43%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$35.0K R 576.1K

-39.25%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$32.8K R 540.0K

-41.59%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$120 R 1,983

-0.11%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$34.81 R 574

-59.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$44.20 R 728

-37.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$31.55 R 520

2.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$10.55 R 174

-36.97%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.60 R 175

-46.70%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$175 R 2,891

56.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$4,834 R 79.6K

63.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$71.5 R 1,178

-31.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$36.90 R 608

-31.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$109 R 1,803

-29.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$94.3 R 1,553

-39.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$394 R 6,497

26.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$366 R 6,038

-15.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$726 R 12.0K

48.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$719 R 11.9K

-14.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$874 R 14.4K

230.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$646 R 10.6K

196.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,164 R 19.2K

-70.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.94

-39.70%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Grahamstown: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Grahamstown

$366 32.7% 18.7% $58

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Grahamstown

$196 17.5% 4.9% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Grahamstown

$199 17.8% 23.2% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Grahamstown

$140 12.5% 49.5% $47

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Grahamstown

$158 14.1% 78.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Grahamstown

$53 4.7% 21% $9.1

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8% 41.5% $6.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $394 in Grahamstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grahamstown pays 237% 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 $42.00 in Grahamstown. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $196, with Grahamstown cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🕒 Local time

23:53 11:53 PM

17:53 5:53 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

67,264

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Grahamstown 11,310 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Grahamstown

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 Grahamstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 237% lower in Grahamstown. 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 $394 in Grahamstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Grahamstown pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,121 in Grahamstown – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,121 in Grahamstown, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Grahamstown. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Grahamstown, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Grahamstown 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 22% less than in Grahamstown. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.