Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Madinat Hamad

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,199 in Madinat Hamad, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Madinat Hamad
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Madinat Hamad Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Madinat Hamad

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,199

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Madinat Hamad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,199 in Madinat Hamad.

Cebu $918
Madinat Hamad $1,199

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,913 in Madinat Hamad.

Cebu $1,409
Madinat Hamad $1,913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,626 in Madinat Hamad.

Cebu $1,900
Madinat Hamad $2,626

Living in Cebu costs roughly 23% less than in Madinat Hamad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Madinat Hamad 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.61 BHD 0.99

18.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$53.1 BHD 20.02

-54.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.30 BHD 2.76

-46.30%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.60 BHD 0.98

-3.46%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.90 BHD 0.34

76.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.30 BHD 0.11

76.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.48 BHD 2.44

-72.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$9.81 BHD 3.70

-77.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.40 BHD 0.53

37.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.04 BHD 0.39

30.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.38 BHD 0.90

-57.56%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.06 BHD 0.78

-1.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$8.59 BHD 3.24

14.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.38 BHD 2.41

-31.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.70 BHD 3.28

-12.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.16 BHD 0.82

52.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.55 BHD 0.58

-10.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.93 BHD 0.73

20.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.33 BHD 0.50

12.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.02 BHD 0.38

131.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.09 BHD 0.41

74.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.56 BHD 0.59

-23.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.55 BHD 0.21

14.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.35 BHD 2.02

-43.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$18.44 BHD 6.96

-67.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.67 BHD 1.39

-66.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.58 BHD 0.97

-32.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.63 BHD 0.24

-60.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$34.67 BHD 13.09

-63.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$5.36 BHD 2.02

-85.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$2.60 BHD 0.98

-91.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$15.62 BHD 5.90

-71.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.39 BHD 0.15

235.90%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$37.6K BHD 14.2K

-43.54%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$20.7K BHD 7,822

-7.63%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$155 BHD 58.4

-22.31%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$24.29 BHD 9.17

-42.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$18.20 BHD 6.87

51.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$119 BHD 45.06

-72.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$52.4 BHD 19.76

-87.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$5.16 BHD 1.95

9.50%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$489 BHD 185

-43.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$11.0K BHD 4,170

-28.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$50.1 BHD 18.90

-1.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$58.5 BHD 22.09

-56.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$88.8 BHD 33.53

-13.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$88.9 BHD 33.54

-35.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$398 BHD 150

25.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$318 BHD 120

-2.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$805 BHD 304

33.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$665 BHD 251

-7.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$669 BHD 252

-48.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.21

15.94%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Madinat Hamad: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Madinat Hamad

$318 26.5% 2.9% $9

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Madinat Hamad

$239 19.9% 16.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Madinat Hamad

$197 16.5% 21.9% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Madinat Hamad

$129 10.8% 37.2% $35

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Madinat Hamad

$131 10.9% 48.2% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Madinat Hamad

$130 10.8% 197% $86

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Madinat Hamad

$56 4.6% 257% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $398 in Madinat Hamad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Madinat Hamad pays 93% 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 $53.0 in Madinat Hamad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $239 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇭 Madinat Hamad

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

17:25 5:25 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

133,350

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.424 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Madinat Hamad 7,860 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Madinat Hamad

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 Madinat Hamad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 31% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 93% lower in Madinat Hamad. 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: $500 in Cebu versus $398 in Madinat Hamad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,199 in Madinat Hamad – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 174% less than in Madinat Hamad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,199 in Madinat Hamad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Madinat Hamad. 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 Madinat Hamad, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Madinat Hamad 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 31% less than in Madinat Hamad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.