Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Ibb

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Ibb: $934 and $897 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Ibb

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $897 in Ibb.

Cebu $934
Ibb $897

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,452 in Ibb.

Cebu $1,415
Ibb $1,452

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $2,008 in Ibb.

Cebu $1,896
Ibb $2,008

Living in Cebu is roughly 4% more expensive than in Ibb, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Ibb 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$6.26 YER 1,475

-51.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$19.41 YER 4,576

20.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$8.87 YER 2,092

-53.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 YER 484

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 YER 605

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$3.75 YER 885

-32.80%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$1.18 YER 277

30.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.48 YER 113

2.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$2.01 YER 473

-2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.02 YER 240

40.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$2.08 YER 492

-50.96%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$3.60 YER 850

-42.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$14.13 YER 3,332

-30.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$8.44 YER 1,990

-45.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$18.96 YER 4,470

-59.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$3.45 YER 814

-4.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.05 YER 246

38.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.16 YER 509

9.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.73 YER 407

-10.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.47 YER 346

60.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.37 YER 322

45.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.87 YER 205

32.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.68 YER 160

-1.47%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.52 YER 594

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 424

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 609

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$3.89 YER 918

-22.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$2.13 YER 503

-65.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$2.56 YER 604

-91.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$7.20 YER 1,698

-39.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$2.07 YER 487

-35.75%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$16.8K YER 4.0M

29.67%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$34.5K YER 8.1M

-43.80%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$62.5 YER 14.7K

92.96%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$16.18 YER 3,816

-10.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$29.80 YER 7,026

-5.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$6.10 YER 1,439

-10.49%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$25.06 YER 5,908

991.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$2,150 YER 507.0K

279.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$29.77 YER 7,021

66.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$121 YER 28.5K

-79.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$47.55 YER 11.2K

61.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$40.23 YER 9,486

47.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$315 YER 74.4K

60.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$251 YER 59.2K

23.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$755 YER 177.9K

39.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$635 YER 149.7K

-2.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$365 YER 86.1K

-6.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.25

-36.00%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Ibb: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Ibb

$251 28.7% 18.8% $58

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Ibb

$254 29% 20.8% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Ibb

$108 12.4% 33.6% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Ibb

$107 12.2% 13.3% $13

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Ibb

$128 14.6% 45.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Ibb

$12 * 1.4% 72% $31

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Ibb

$15 * 1.7% 3.2% $0.5

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 $506 in Cebu and $315 in Ibb. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ibb pays 7% 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 $19.00 in Ibb. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $254, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇾🇪 Ibb

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

09:16 9:16 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

208,844

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, 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).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Ibb 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Ibb

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 Ibb: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibb is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and transport. The 4% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Ibb. 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 $315 in Ibb. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cebu pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $897 in Ibb – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Ibb gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Ibb 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 Ibb 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 Ibb gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.