Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Ikeja

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,415 in Ikeja, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ikeja outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
118

Cost of Living Index in Ikeja
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Ikeja Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Ikeja

🇳🇬 Nigeria

$2,415

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Ikeja

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $2,415 in Ikeja.

Cebu $918
Ikeja $2,415

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $4,119 in Ikeja.

Cebu $1,409
Ikeja $4,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $5,822 in Ikeja.

Cebu $1,900
Ikeja $5,822

Living in Cebu costs roughly 62% less than in Ikeja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Ikeja is 79% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$0.50 ₦670

518.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$11.16 ₦14.8K

117.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.69 ₦10.2K

-49.02%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.87 ₦3,815

-12.54%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.13 ₦168

1123.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.07 ₦91.8

657.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$0.29 ₦382

513.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.05 ₦2,731

5.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.77 ₦1,027

149.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.73 ₦975

86.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.26 ₦1,675

-19.84%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.28 ₦3,026

-10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.45 ₦4,591

185.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.93 ₦5,226

11.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$4.56 ₦6,067

66.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.71 ₦2,276

92.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.28 ₦1,709

8.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.14 ₦1,521

104.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.27 ₦1,692

18.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.37 ₦1,824

72.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.35 ₦1,792

40.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.90 ₦1,194

32.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.37 ₦491

70.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$0.59 ₦788

408.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$2.43 ₦3,227

148.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.54 ₦725

127.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$0.46 ₦617

280.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.11 ₦141

127.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$3.41 ₦4,533

270.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.71 ₦942

8.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.97 ₦1,292

-76.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$2.16 ₦2,873

106.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.16 ₦206

718.75%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$11.1K ₦14.8M

91.28%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$13.5K ₦17.9M

42.15%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$112 ₦149.5K

6.96%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$14.52 ₦19.3K

-3.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$33.03 ₦43.9K

-16.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$6.33 ₦8,413

-10.74%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$679 ₦902.6K

-59.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$20.2K ₦26.9M

-60.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$14.93 ₦19.9K

230.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$18.29 ₦24.3K

38.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$36.31 ₦48.3K

111.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$48.50 ₦64.5K

17.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$3,485 ₦4.6M

-85.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$1,989 ₦2.6M

-84.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$6,487 ₦8.6M

-83.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$5,007 ₦6.7M

-87.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$74.2 ₦98.7K

365.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

18.39

-60.85%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ikeja: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Ikeja

$2K 82.4% 544% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Ikeja

$123 5.1% 40.1% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Ikeja

$160 6.6% 1.1% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Ikeja

$53 2.2% 43.5% $41

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Ikeja

$68 2.8% 23.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Ikeja

$13 * 0.5% 71% $31

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Ikeja

$9.4 0.4% 39.6% $6.2

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 $3,485 in Ikeja. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 366% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $11.00 in Ikeja for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $123 per month, with Ikeja cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇳🇬 Ikeja

🕒 Local time

23:45 11:45 PM

16:45 4:45 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

861,300

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Nigerian Naira NGN ₦

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 NGN = 7.52 USD

10,000 NGN = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NGN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Nigerian Naira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 NGN (10,000 NGN = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 NGN (10,000 NGN = 6.69 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Ikeja 13,170 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Ikeja

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 Ikeja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in utilities. The 163% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 366% higher in Cebu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $3,485 in Ikeja. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $2,415 in Ikeja – a 163% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 271% less than in Ikeja. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,415 in Ikeja, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Ikeja. 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 Ikeja, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Ikeja 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 163% less than in Ikeja. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.