Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Honiara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,742 in Honiara, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,742

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Honiara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,742 in Honiara.

Cebu $934
Honiara $1,742

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $2,873 in Honiara.

Cebu $1,415
Honiara $2,873

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $4,004 in Honiara.

Cebu $1,896
Honiara $4,004

Living in Cebu costs roughly 46% less than in Honiara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 30% below, Honiara is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$6.66 SBD 53.8

-54.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$62.8 SBD 507

-62.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$12.53 SBD 101

-67.36%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$3.48 SBD 28.15

-27.59%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$1.60 SBD 12.90

-3.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$1.05 SBD 8.49

-53.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$2.42 SBD 19.59

-26.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$5.70 SBD 46.05

-60.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$2.57 SBD 20.76

-24.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$1.49 SBD 12.00

-4.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$1.64 SBD 13.29

-37.80%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$5.48 SBD 44.29

-62.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$6.61 SBD 53.4

48.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$8.34 SBD 67.4

-44.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$15.18 SBD 123

-49.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$6.39 SBD 51.7

-48.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$2.70 SBD 21.84

-46.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$8.70 SBD 70.3

-72.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$3.67 SBD 29.63

-58.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.99 SBD 16.10

18.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$3.47 SBD 28.03

-42.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$1.40 SBD 11.31

-17.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$1.03 SBD 8.36

-34.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.26 SBD 34.40

-29.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$10.37 SBD 83.7

-38.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$1.69 SBD 13.67

-22.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$3.47 SBD 28.02

-50.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

$0.39 SBD 3.12

-35.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

$25.14 SBD 203

-49.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$1.27 SBD 10.28

-41.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$1.20 SBD 9.72

-82.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$12.60 SBD 102

-65.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$1.35 SBD 10.92

-1.48%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$18.7K SBD 151.1K

16.33%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$34.1K SBD 275.9K

-43.19%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$429 SBD 3,466

-71.89%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$27.02 SBD 218

-46.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$89.0 SBD 719

-68.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$36.76 SBD 297

-11.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

$8.94 SBD 72.2

-28.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$4.41 SBD 35.66

23.81%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$100 SBD 811

172.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$2,898 SBD 23.4K

181.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$27.71 SBD 224

78.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$93.5 SBD 755

-73.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$95.9 SBD 774

-20.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$103 SBD 830

-42.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$870 SBD 7,027

-41.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$434 SBD 3,508

-28.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$1,851 SBD 14.9K

-43.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$1,398 SBD 11.3K

-55.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

$86.4K SBD 698.3K

-96.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

$62.1K SBD 501.4K

-96.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$444 SBD 3,585

-23.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

15.67

-54.05%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Honiara: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Honiara

$434 25.3% 40.4% $125

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Honiara

$345 20.1% 63.8% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Honiara

$545 31.8% 234% $382

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Honiara

$144 8.4% 52.1% $49

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Honiara

$167 9.7% 88.7% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Honiara

$46 2.7% 4.6% $2

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Honiara

$34 2% 120% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $870 in Honiara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Honiara pays 30% 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: $23.00 in Cebu vs $63.0 in Honiara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $345 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇸🇧 Honiara

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

17:18 5:18 PM

3 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

54,600 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, 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).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Honiara 4,550 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Honiara

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 Honiara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Honiara. 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 $870 in Honiara. 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 $1,742 in Honiara – a 87% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 99% less than in Honiara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,742 in Honiara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Honiara. 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 Honiara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Honiara 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 87% less than in Honiara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.