Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Lerwick

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 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
114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Lerwick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $2,368 in Lerwick.

Cebu $915
Lerwick $2,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $3,415 in Lerwick.

Cebu $1,418
Lerwick $3,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $4,462 in Lerwick.

Cebu $1,921
Lerwick $4,462

Living in Cebu costs roughly 61% less than in Lerwick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 33% below, Lerwick is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$20.15 £15.11

-84.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$98.5 £73.9

-75.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$10.35 £7.76

-61.45%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$5.40 £4.05

-53.70%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$2.25 £1.69

-31.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$1.64 £1.23

-69.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.45 £4.84

-72.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$5.86 £4.40

-62.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.55 £1.16

29.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.69 £1.27

-18.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$2.21 £1.66

-53.39%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$4.02 £3.02

-49.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$9.37 £7.03

8.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$8.57 £6.43

-48.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$14.44 £10.84

-46.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.03 £2.27

9.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.51 £1.13

-3.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$2.76 £2.07

-15.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$3.28 £2.46

-54.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$1.83 £1.37

27.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.71 £1.28

13.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$1.26 £0.95

-7.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$1.55 £1.16

-56.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$24.02 £18.02

-87.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$10.48 £7.86

-40.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$3.00 £2.25

-59.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$3.27 £2.46

-47.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$3.07 £2.30

-92.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$83.1 £62.3

-85.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$4.23 £3.18

-81.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$2.35 £1.76

-90.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$24.03 £18.03

-81.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$2.34 £1.75

-43.59%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$38.9K £29.2K

-45.97%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$34.5K £25.9K

-43.71%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$309 £232

-61.69%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$19.33 £14.50

-26.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$45.26 £33.95

-39.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$52.8 £39.61

-38.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$13.32 £9.99

-59.46%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$1,392 £1,045

-80.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$24.5K £18.4K

-67.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$88.7 £66.5

-44.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$50.6 £37.93

-51.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$89.1 £66.8

-13.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$110 £82.8

-46.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$1,112 £834

-54.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$1,036 £777

-70.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$2,395 £1,797

-55.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$1,523 £1,143

-58.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$4,646 £3,486

-38.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$3,438 £2,579

-45.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.09

41.45%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Lerwick

$1K 43.7% 240% $731

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Lerwick

$298 12.6% 42.3% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Lerwick

$374 15.8% 133% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Lerwick

$152 6.4% 61.7% $58

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Lerwick

$317 13.4% 261% $229

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Lerwick

$79 3.4% 84.3% $36

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Lerwick

$111 4.7% 635% $96

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $99.0 in Lerwick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $298 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🕒 Local time

05:43 5:43 AM

22:43 10:43 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

7,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Lerwick 10,810 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Lerwick

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 Lerwick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 159% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,372 in Cebu and $3,552 in Lerwick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $503 in Cebu versus $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $2,368 in Lerwick – a 159% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 573% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $915 in Cebu versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. 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 Lerwick, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Lerwick 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 159% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.