Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mackay

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,222 in Mackay, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
106

Cost of Living Index in Mackay
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Mackay Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Mackay

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mackay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $2,222 in Mackay.

Cebu $934
Mackay $2,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $3,485 in Mackay.

Cebu $1,415
Mackay $3,485

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $4,748 in Mackay.

Cebu $1,896
Mackay $4,748

Living in Cebu costs roughly 58% less than in Mackay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 30% below, Mackay is 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$17.39 A$24.98

-82.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$75.5 A$108

-68.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$12.53 A$17.99

-67.36%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$4.14 A$5.94

-39.13%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$3.38 A$4.86

-54.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$2.71 A$3.89

-81.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$6.85 A$9.84

-73.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$7.06 A$10.14

-67.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.93 A$2.78

1.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$2.60 A$3.74

-45.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$2.86 A$4.11

-64.34%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$5.65 A$8.12

-63.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$9.63 A$13.84

1.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$8.43 A$12.11

-45.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$16.28 A$23.38

-52.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$3.62 A$5.20

-8.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$2.99 A$4.30

-51.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.99 A$4.29

-21.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$6.62 A$9.51

-76.74%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.50 A$3.59

-5.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$2.57 A$3.69

-22.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$3.08 A$4.42

-62.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$3.09 A$4.44

-78.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$42.90 A$61.6

-93.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$8.52 A$12.24

-25.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$4.99 A$7.17

-73.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$6.26 A$8.99

-72.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

$2.49 A$3.58

-89.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

$70.7 A$102

-82.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$5.81 A$8.35

-87.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$2.11 A$3.03

-90.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$34.59 A$49.68

-87.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$1.21 A$1.74

9.92%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$27.2K A$39.1K

-19.98%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$35.4K A$50.9K

-45.24%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$230 A$330

-47.48%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$29.33 A$42.13

-50.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$79.5 A$114

-64.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$51.8 A$74.4

-36.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

$20.63 A$29.63

-69.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$16.88 A$24.24

-67.65%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$1,856 A$2,666

-85.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$6,749 A$9,694

20.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$70.6 A$101

-29.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$51.0 A$73.3

-51.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$127 A$182

-39.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$105 A$150

-43.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$947 A$1,360

-46.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$802 A$1,152

-61.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$1,868 A$2,684

-43.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$1,784 A$2,563

-65.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

$3,116 A$4,475

-6.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

$1,738 A$2,496

7.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$5,620 A$8,073

-93.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.63

27.89%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mackay: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Mackay

$802 36.9% 159% $493

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Mackay

$397 18.2% 88.7% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Mackay

$338 15.5% 107% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Mackay

$159 7.3% 67.9% $64

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mackay

$299 13.7% 239% $211

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Mackay

$86 3.9% 96.1% $42

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Mackay

$97 4.5% 528% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $947 in Mackay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mackay pays 1548% 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 $75.0 in Mackay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $397 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇦🇺 Mackay

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

16:16 4:16 PM

2 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

80,455

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mackay 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mackay

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 Mackay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 138% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1548% lower in Mackay. 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: $506 in Cebu versus $947 in Mackay. 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 $2,222 in Mackay – a 138% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 459% less than in Mackay. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,222 in Mackay, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Mackay. 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 Mackay, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Mackay 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 138% less than in Mackay. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.