Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Kollam

For one person, living is cheaper in Kollam: $284 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
14

Cost of Living Index in Kollam
Learn more

Kollam Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Kollam

🇮🇳 India

$284

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Kollam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $284 in Kollam.

Cebu $918
Kollam $284

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $448 in Kollam.

Cebu $1,409
Kollam $448

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $613 in Kollam.

Cebu $1,900
Kollam $613

Living in Cebu is roughly 224% more expensive than in Kollam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Kollam 79% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$1.04 ₹98.3

197.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$6.43 ₹610

276.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$3.21 ₹305

22.12%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.40 ₹133

79.29%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.36 ₹34.41

341.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.11 ₹10.76

381.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.33 ₹126

33.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$1.87 ₹178

16.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.60 ₹57.1

220.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.49 ₹46.49

177.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.50 ₹47.86

102.00%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.84 ₹79.3

141.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.67 ₹349

168.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.03 ₹193

116.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.59 ₹151

107.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.56 ₹53.1

148.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.73 ₹69.6

219.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.39 ₹37.32

284.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.35 ₹32.80

574.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.38 ₹36.16

400.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.63 ₹60.1

88.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.25 ₹23.58

152.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.96 ₹471

-39.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$2.55 ₹242

136.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.00 ₹190

-38.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.77 ₹263

-36.82%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.32 ₹315

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.16 ₹15.03

56.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$7.00 ₹665

80.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.83 ₹78.4

-7.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.30 ₹28.45

-23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$2.10 ₹200

112.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.11 ₹105

18.02%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$9,113 ₹865.4K

133.11%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$16.5K ₹1.6M

16.17%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$32.54 ₹3,090

269.48%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.04 ₹289

360.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$5.20 ₹494

429.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$13.66 ₹1,297

136.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$10.25 ₹973

-35.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$1.54 ₹146

266.88%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$20.80 ₹1,975

1223.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$2,666 ₹253.2K

196.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$16.55 ₹1,571

198.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$23.17 ₹2,200

8.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$25.79 ₹2,449

198.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$24.53 ₹2,329

133.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$83.1 ₹7,894

500.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$46.94 ₹4,458

557.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$183 ₹17.4K

488.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$117 ₹11.1K

427.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$830 ₹78.8K

247.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$441 ₹41.9K

334.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$513 ₹48.7K

-32.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

9.13

-21.14%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kollam: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Kollam

$47 16.6% 84.8% $262

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Kollam

$82 28.8% 60.3% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Kollam

$41 14.4% 74.8% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Kollam

$41 14.3% 56.9% $53

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Kollam

$47 16.6% 46.8% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Kollam

$17 5.9% 61.6% $27

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Kollam

$10 3.5% 36% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $83.1 in Kollam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kollam pays 48% 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 $6.00 in Kollam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $82.0 per month, with Kollam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Kollam

🕒 Local time

00:26 12:26 AM

21:56 9:56 PM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

367,107

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Kollam 5,190 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Kollam

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 Kollam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kollam is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 224% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 48% lower in Kollam. 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 $83.1 in Kollam. 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 $284 in Kollam – a 224% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kollam runs roughly 81% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Kollam gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Kollam 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 Kollam 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 Kollam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 224% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.