Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Hanoi

For one person, living is cheaper in Hanoi: $805 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Hanoi
Learn more

Hanoi Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Hanoi

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$805

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Hanoi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $805 in Hanoi.

Cebu $934
Hanoi $805

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,254 in Hanoi.

Cebu $1,415
Hanoi $1,254

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,704 in Hanoi.

Cebu $1,896
Hanoi $1,704

Living in Cebu is roughly 16% more expensive than in Hanoi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Hanoi 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$2.09 ₫54.0K

44.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$23.19 ₫600.5K

1.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$4.49 ₫116.3K

-8.91%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$1.87 ₫48.3K

34.76%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$0.47 ₫12.3K

227.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$0.30 ₫7,658

63.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$1.10 ₫28.4K

62.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$1.94 ₫50.3K

16.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.48 ₫38.3K

31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$1.10 ₫28.4K

30.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$0.75 ₫19.4K

36.00%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$1.50 ₫38.9K

37.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$10.36 ₫268.1K

-5.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$3.79 ₫98.2K

21.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$9.91 ₫256.4K

-22.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.37 ₫87.2K

-1.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$1.03 ₫26.8K

40.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.31 ₫33.9K

80.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$1.14 ₫29.5K

35.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.99 ₫25.5K

138.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.08 ₫28.1K

84.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$0.57 ₫14.8K

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$0.55 ₫14.1K

21.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.44 ₫37.2K

108.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$12.74 ₫329.9K

-50.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$0.89 ₫23.1K

47.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.72 ₫44.6K

0.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

$0.39 ₫10.2K

-35.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

$9.43 ₫244.2K

34.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$0.74 ₫19.2K

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$0.61 ₫15.7K

-65.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$2.29 ₫59.3K

89.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$0.90 ₫23.3K

47.78%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$31.2K ₫808.2M

-30.28%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$29.9K ₫772.9M

-35.02%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$86.3 ₫2.2M

39.74%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$5.30 ₫137.3K

172.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$8.95 ₫231.7K

216.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$24.82 ₫642.6K

31.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

$9.62 ₫249.1K

-33.58%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$4.28 ₫110.7K

27.57%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$755 ₫19.6M

-63.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$27.7K ₫716.4M

-70.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$48.39 ₫1.3M

2.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$26.60 ₫688.6K

-6.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$84.3 ₫2.2M

-9.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$77.3 ₫2.0M

-23.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$414 ₫10.7M

22.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$278 ₫7.2M

11.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$873 ₫22.6M

20.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$536 ₫13.9M

15.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

$5,285 ₫136.8M

-44.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

$2,798 ₫72.4M

-33.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$518 ₫13.4M

-34.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

8.28

-13.04%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Hanoi: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Hanoi

$278 35% 10.2% $32

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Hanoi

$196 24.7% 6.9% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Hanoi

$101 12.7% 38.4% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Hanoi

$106 13.4% 12.5% $12

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Hanoi

$65 8.2% 26.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Hanoi

$33 4.2% 23.4% $10

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Hanoi

$15 1.9% 4.3% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $414 in Hanoi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hanoi pays 52% 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 $23.00 in Hanoi. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $196, with Hanoi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇻🇳 Hanoi

🕒 Local time

09:54 9:54 AM

08:54 8:54 AM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

8,587,100 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,037 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Hanoi 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Hanoi

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 Hanoi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hanoi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 16% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Hanoi. 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 $414 in Hanoi. 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 $805 in Hanoi – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Hanoi runs roughly 34% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Hanoi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Hanoi 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 Hanoi 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 Hanoi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.