Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Lucknow

For one person, living is cheaper in Lucknow: $373 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
18

Cost of Living Index in Lucknow
Learn more

Lucknow Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Lucknow

🇮🇳 India

$373

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Lucknow

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $373 in Lucknow.

Cebu $934
Lucknow $373

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $573 in Lucknow.

Cebu $1,415
Lucknow $573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $773 in Lucknow.

Cebu $1,896
Lucknow $773

Living in Cebu is roughly 150% more expensive than in Lucknow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Lucknow 72% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$1.84 ₹178

64.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$10.53 ₹1,019

122.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$3.15 ₹305

29.84%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$1.58 ₹153

59.49%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.37 ₹35.52

316.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.13 ₹12.36

276.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$1.53 ₹148

16.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.34 ₹226

-3.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$0.70 ₹68.2

178.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.44 ₹42.49

225.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$0.58 ₹56.4

75.86%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$0.98 ₹95.1

110.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$3.39 ₹328

189.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$2.56 ₹248

80.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.74 ₹168

90.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$0.62 ₹60.4

133.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.94 ₹90.6

151.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$0.50 ₹48.57

208.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.31 ₹30.34

661.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.44 ₹42.54

352.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.44 ₹42.93

161.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.30 ₹28.85

123.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$5.00 ₹484

-40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$8.39 ₹812

-24.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.65 ₹160

-20.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$2.53 ₹245

-31.62%

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

$5.44 ₹526

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.44 ₹42.58

-43.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$5.07 ₹491

149.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$0.95 ₹91.8

-22.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.20 ₹19.34

5.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$1.17 ₹113

270.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.11 ₹108

19.82%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$12.7K ₹1.2M

71.32%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$21.5K ₹2.1M

-9.83%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$52.6 ₹5,089

129.33%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$3.67 ₹355

293.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$8.40 ₹813

236.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$15.82 ₹1,531

106.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$6.69 ₹647

-4.48%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$3.02 ₹292

80.79%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$39.14 ₹3,788

598.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$965 ₹93.4K

745.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$22.94 ₹2,220

116.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$24.48 ₹2,370

1.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$38.47 ₹3,723

99.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$25.68 ₹2,486

130.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$125 ₹12.1K

305.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$72.3 ₹6,994

328.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$349 ₹33.8K

201.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$174 ₹16.8K

256.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$1,268 ₹122.7K

129.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$544 ₹52.6K

243.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$332 ₹32.1K

2.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

8.53

-15.59%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lucknow: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Lucknow

$72 19.4% 76.6% $237

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Lucknow

$97 26% 54.1% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Lucknow

$65 17.4% 60.4% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Lucknow

$50 13.5% 46.9% $44

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Lucknow

$57 15.5% 35% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Lucknow

$22 5.9% 49.9% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Lucknow

$8.8 2.4% 43.1% $6.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $125 in Lucknow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 3% 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: $23.00 in Cebu vs $11.00 in Lucknow for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $97.0 per month, with Lucknow cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Lucknow

🕒 Local time

14:12 2:12 PM

11:42 11:42 AM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

4,588,455

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.21 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Lucknow 4,860 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Lucknow

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 Lucknow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lucknow is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 150% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3% 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: $506 in Cebu versus $125 in Lucknow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $373 in Lucknow – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Lucknow runs roughly 150% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Lucknow gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Lucknow 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 Lucknow 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 Lucknow gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.