Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Lewisham

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $3,053 in Lewisham, rent and utilities included – about $25,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cebu
🇵🇭 Philippines
$918
/mo nomad
Lewisham
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$3,053
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Lewisham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $3,053 in Lewisham.

  • Cebu $918
  • Lewisham $3,053

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $4,886 in Lewisham.

  • Cebu $1,409
  • Lewisham $4,886

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $6,719 in Lewisham.

  • Cebu $1,900
  • Lewisham $6,719

Living in Cebu costs roughly 70% less than in Lewisham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Lewisham is 126% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.09 ₱194
$23.43 £17.58
-86.81%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$24.22 ₱1,525
$79.9 £60.0
-69.69%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.92 ₱247
$10.40 £7.81
-62.31%
Cappuccino
$2.51 ₱158
$4.85 £3.64
-48.25%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.59 ₱100
$2.04 £1.53
-22.06%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.53 ₱33.43
$1.73 £1.30
-69.36%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.78 ₱112
$6.54 £4.91
-72.78%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.17 ₱137
$5.83 £4.37
-62.78%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.92 ₱121
$1.68 £1.26
14.29%
White Bread (500g)
$1.36 ₱85.4
$1.87 £1.40
-27.27%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.01 ₱63.5
$2.06 £1.55
-50.97%
Eggs
$2.03 ₱128
$4.36 £3.27
-53.44%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.86 ₱621
$6.63 £4.97
48.72%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.39 ₱277
$6.23 £4.68
-29.53%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.60 ₱479
$11.84 £8.89
-35.81%
Apples (1kg)
$3.30 ₱208
$4.30 £3.23
-23.26%
Banana (1kg)
$1.39 ₱87.8
$1.42 £1.06
-2.11%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.33 ₱147
$1.94 £1.45
20.10%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.50 ₱94.3
$3.34 £2.50
-55.09%
Potato (1kg)
$2.36 ₱149
$1.35 £1.01
74.81%
Onion (1kg)
$1.90 ₱119
$1.86 £1.40
2.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 ₱74.9
$0.75 £0.57
58.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.63 ₱39.71
$1.49 £1.12
-57.72%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.00 ₱189
$23.34 £17.51
-87.15%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.03 ₱379
$11.44 £8.58
-47.29%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.23 ₱77.7
$2.23 £1.67
-44.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 ₱110
$1.82 £1.36
-3.85%
🚌 Getting Around
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.25 ₱15.86
$3.05 £2.29
-91.80%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.64 ₱796
$156 £117
-91.87%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.77 ₱48.62
$6.46 £4.85
-88.08%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.23 ₱14.53
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.46 ₱281
$30.34 £22.76
-85.30%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 ₱82.8
$2.07 £1.55
-36.71%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K ₱1.3M
$38.3K £28.7K
-44.52%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.1K ₱1.2M
$40.0K £30.0K
-52.18%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$120 ₱7,569
$390 £292
-69.15%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$14.00 ₱882
$24.02 £18.02
-41.72%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.54 ₱1,734
$42.07 £31.56
-34.54%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$32.33 ₱2,035
$44.31 £33.24
-27.04%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.65 ₱419
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.65 ₱356
$16.82 £12.62
-66.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$275 ₱17.3K
$804 £603
-65.77%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,918 ₱498.5K
$80.6K £60.5K
-90.18%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$49.33 ₱3,106
$153 £115
-67.78%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$25.24 ₱1,589
$65.7 £49.26
-61.56%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.0 ₱4,846
$136 £102
-43.57%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$57.2 ₱3,601
$126 £94.6
-54.63%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$500 ₱31.5K
$2,218 £1,664
-77.48%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$309 ₱19.4K
$1,524 £1,143
-79.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,078 ₱67.9K
$5,403 £4,053
-80.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$615 ₱38.7K
$3,541 £2,656
-82.62%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,886 ₱181.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,917 ₱120.7K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cebu
Lewisham
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$346 ₱21.8K
$3,136 £2,353
-88.97%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.2
5.54
29.96%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lewisham: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cebu
$309
Lewisham
$1.5K 394% $1.2K
Groceries & Markets
Cebu
$206
Lewisham
$268 30.4% $63
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
$162
Lewisham
$456 182% $294
Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
$94
Lewisham
$217 131% $123
Eating Out
Cebu
$88
Lewisham
$336 281% $248
Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
$44
Lewisham
$78 78.7% $34
Getting Around
Cebu
$16
Lewisham
$174 * 1019% $159

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 $2,218 in Lewisham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lewisham pays 807% 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 $80.0 in Lewisham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $268 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇭 Cebu
🇬🇧 Lewisham
🕒 Local time
00:03 12:03 AM
17:03 5:03 PM
7 h behind Cebu
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
964,169
96,224
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

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).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cebu Lewisham 11,300 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cebu
  • Lewisham

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 Lewisham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lewisham cheaper than Cebu?
Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 233% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Cebu or Lewisham?
On paper, salaries run 807% lower in Lewisham. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Cebu and Lewisham?
Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $2,218 in Lewisham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What are total monthly expenses in Cebu and in Lewisham?
All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $3,053 in Lewisham – a 233% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 1131% less than in Lewisham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Cebu or in Lewisham?
At $918 in Cebu versus $3,053 in Lewisham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Lewisham. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Cebu or Lewisham more family-friendly?
For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lewisham, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Cebu or Lewisham?
Safety-wise, Cebu and Lewisham are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 233% less than in Lewisham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Cebu vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?