Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Ilsan

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,444 in Ilsan, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Ilsan
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Ilsan Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Ilsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,444

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Ilsan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,444 in Ilsan.

Cebu $918
Ilsan $1,444

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $2,297 in Ilsan.

Cebu $1,409
Ilsan $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $3,151 in Ilsan.

Cebu $1,900
Ilsan $3,151

Living in Cebu costs roughly 36% less than in Ilsan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Ilsan is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$7.30 ₩9,705

-57.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$67.4 ₩89.6K

-64.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.34 ₩9,763

-46.59%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.01 ₩5,337

-37.41%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.61 ₩2,139

-1.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.77 ₩1,017

-31.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$3.79 ₩5,034

-53.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$6.07 ₩8,070

-64.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.08 ₩2,764

-7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$3.16 ₩4,198

-56.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.23 ₩2,971

-54.71%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.36 ₩4,466

-39.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$15.36 ₩20.4K

-35.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$7.94 ₩10.6K

-44.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$11.21 ₩14.9K

-32.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$7.42 ₩9,860

-55.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$3.25 ₩4,324

-57.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$5.75 ₩7,649

-59.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$6.08 ₩8,087

-75.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$3.51 ₩4,666

-32.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.37 ₩3,152

-19.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$2.00 ₩2,657

-40.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$1.14 ₩1,520

-44.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.41 ₩4,535

-12.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$18.73 ₩24.9K

-67.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.23 ₩2,960

-44.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$3.35 ₩4,449

-47.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.10 ₩1,462

-77.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$49.42 ₩65.7K

-74.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$3.64 ₩4,834

-78.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.63 ₩833

-63.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$9.18 ₩12.2K

-51.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.42 ₩1,883

-7.75%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.3K ₩39.0M

-27.54%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$28.3K ₩37.6M

-32.26%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$213 ₩283.4K

-43.59%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$34.95 ₩46.5K

-59.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$20.52 ₩27.3K

34.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$52.0 ₩69.2K

-37.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$11.82 ₩15.7K

-43.74%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$11.30 ₩15.0K

-50.00%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$520 ₩691.8K

-47.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$17.6K ₩23.4M

-54.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$57.0 ₩75.8K

-13.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$32.76 ₩43.6K

-22.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$69.9 ₩93.0K

10.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$83.0 ₩110.3K

-31.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$482 ₩640.8K

3.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$365 ₩485.2K

-15.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,166 ₩1.6M

-7.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$738 ₩981.9K

-16.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$7,213 ₩9.6M

-59.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$5,518 ₩7.3M

-65.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$3,453 ₩4.6M

-89.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.1

75.61%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ilsan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Ilsan

$365 25.3% 18.2% $56

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Ilsan

$396 27.5% 92.6% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Ilsan

$269 18.6% 66.1% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Ilsan

$109 7.6% 16.2% $15

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Ilsan

$169 11.7% 91.6% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Ilsan

$75 5.2% 71.1% $31

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Ilsan

$61 4.2% 289% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $482 in Ilsan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilsan pays 898% 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 $67.0 in Ilsan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $396 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇷 Ilsan

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

1,061,752

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Ilsan 3,060 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Ilsan

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 Ilsan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 57% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 898% lower in Ilsan. 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 $482 in Ilsan. 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 $1,444 in Ilsan – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 291% less than in Ilsan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,444 in Ilsan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Ilsan. 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 Ilsan, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Ilsan 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 57% less than in Ilsan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.