Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $516 in Machakos.

Cebu $915
Machakos $516

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $797 in Machakos.

Cebu $1,418
Machakos $797

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $1,078 in Machakos.

Cebu $1,921
Machakos $1,078

Living in Cebu is roughly 77% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Machakos 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$3.15 KES 408

-3.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$18.98 KES 2,461

26.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$6.19 KES 803

-35.54%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$1.98 KES 257

26.26%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$0.64 KES 83.0

140.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$0.54 KES 69.8

-7.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.11 KES 273

-15.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$2.71 KES 352

-19.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$0.37 KES 48.53

440.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$0.44 KES 56.9

211.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$0.74 KES 95.4

39.19%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.36 KES 177

49.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$10.73 KES 1,391

-4.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$6.29 KES 815

-29.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$4.55 KES 589

68.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$1.58 KES 205

109.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$0.73 KES 95.2

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$0.40 KES 52.4

480.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$0.41 KES 53.1

263.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$0.80 KES 104

192.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$0.81 KES 104

139.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.68 KES 88.4

70.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.38 KES 49.11

78.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$3.51 KES 455

-14.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$11.44 KES 1,483

-45.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$1.90 KES 247

-35.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$2.80 KES 363

-38.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$0.79 KES 103

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.78 KES 101

-71.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$2.84 KES 368

59.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.49 KES 193

-11.41%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$19.2K KES 2.5M

9.60%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$21.5K KES 2.8M

-9.58%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$56.1 KES 7,279

111.17%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$7.82 KES 1,014

81.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$11.48 KES 1,488

139.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$38.18 KES 4,950

-15.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$7.62 KES 987

-29.13%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$45.44 KES 5,892

507.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-35.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$11.34 KES 1,470

335.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$28.69 KES 3,719

-14.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$69.4 KES 8,991

10.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$38.50 KES 4,992

52.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$93.9 KES 12.2K

436.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$68.7 KES 8,905

343.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$154 KES 20.0K

596.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$115 KES 15.0K

447.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

$383 KES 49.6K

-12.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

14.71

-51.05%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Machakos

$69 13.3% 77.4% $236

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Machakos

$159 30.8% 24.1% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Machakos

$75 14.6% 52.9% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 29.4% $28

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Machakos

$88 17.1% 0.6% $0.5

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Machakos

$53 10.4% 23.9% $10

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 69% $10

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 $503 in Cebu and $93.9 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Machakos pays 14% 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 $19.00 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $159 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

16:42 4:42 PM

11:42 11:42 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

114,109

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Machakos 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 77% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Machakos. 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: $503 in Cebu versus $93.9 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $516 in Machakos – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Machakos 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 Machakos 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 Machakos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.