Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Malahide

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $3,281 in Malahide, rent and utilities included – about $28,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
159

Cost of Living Index in Malahide
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Malahide Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Malahide

🇮🇪 Ireland

$3,281

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Malahide

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $3,281 in Malahide.

Cebu $918
Malahide $3,281

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $4,120 in Malahide.

Cebu $1,409
Malahide $4,120

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,959 in Malahide.

Cebu $1,900
Malahide $4,959

Living in Cebu costs roughly 72% less than in Malahide, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Malahide is 143% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$21.40 €19.04

-85.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$89.8 €79.8

-73.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$12.75 €11.34

-69.25%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$3.90 €3.47

-35.64%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$3.14 €2.79

-49.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$2.06 €1.83

-74.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$7.06 €6.28

-74.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$6.50 €5.78

-66.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.65 €1.47

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$2.27 €2.02

-40.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.66 €1.48

-39.16%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.76 €3.34

-46.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$9.69 €8.62

1.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$10.90 €9.69

-59.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$15.20 €13.52

-50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.60 €2.32

26.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.55 €2.27

-45.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$3.16 €2.81

-26.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$5.44 €4.84

-72.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.16 €1.92

9.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.31 €1.17

45.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.21 €1.07

-1.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$1.99 €1.77

-68.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$18.66 €16.60

-83.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$14.34 €12.75

-57.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.71 €3.30

-66.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$3.85 €3.43

-54.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$2.59 €2.31

-90.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$5.06 €4.50

-84.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.66 €1.48

-86.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$34.82 €30.97

-87.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.92 €1.71

-31.77%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$35.2K €31.3K

-39.65%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$38.0K €33.8K

-49.60%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$243 €216

-50.53%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$23.02 €20.48

-39.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$48.02 €42.72

-42.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$62.0 €55.2

-47.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$14.31 €12.73

-60.52%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$1,002 €891

-72.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$5,481 €4,876

44.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$99.6 €88.6

-50.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$48.33 €42.99

-47.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$115 €103

-33.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$122 €109

-53.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,558 €1,386

-67.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$2,003 €1,781

-84.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$2,541 €2,260

-57.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$2,101 €1,869

-70.71%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.14

73.91%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Malahide: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Malahide

$2K 61% 548% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Malahide

$351 10.7% 70.5% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Malahide

$314 9.6% 94.2% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Malahide

$173 5.3% 84.7% $80

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Malahide

$325 9.9% 269% $237

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Malahide

$91 2.8% 108% $47

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Malahide

$24 * 0.7% 52.5% $8.2

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 $1,558 in Malahide. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $90.0 in Malahide for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $351 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇪 Malahide

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

18,608

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Malahide 11,510 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Malahide

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 Malahide: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 257% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $4,921 in Malahide to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $1,558 in Malahide. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 70% higher in Malahide. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $3,281 in Malahide – a 257% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $3,281 in Malahide, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Malahide. 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 Malahide, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Malahide 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 257% less than in Malahide. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.