Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,536 in Manama, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
76

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Manama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,536 in Manama.

Cebu $934
Manama $1,536

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $2,433 in Manama.

Cebu $1,415
Manama $2,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $3,331 in Manama.

Cebu $1,896
Manama $3,331

Living in Cebu costs roughly 39% less than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 30% below, Manama is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$5.24 BHD 1.98

-42.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$52.8 BHD 19.92

-55.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$7.30 BHD 2.75

-43.97%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$4.86 BHD 1.83

-48.15%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.88 BHD 0.33

75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.30 BHD 0.11

63.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$6.72 BHD 2.54

-73.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$9.99 BHD 3.77

-77.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.37 BHD 0.52

42.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.11 BHD 0.42

28.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$2.28 BHD 0.86

-55.26%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.20 BHD 0.83

-6.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$8.47 BHD 3.19

15.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$6.34 BHD 2.39

-27.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$8.42 BHD 3.18

-8.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$2.41 BHD 0.91

37.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$2.32 BHD 0.87

-37.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.89 BHD 0.71

24.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.44 BHD 0.54

6.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.06 BHD 0.40

122.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.41 BHD 0.53

41.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$1.54 BHD 0.58

-25.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.83 BHD 0.31

-19.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$5.34 BHD 2.01

-43.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$18.36 BHD 6.93

-65.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-63.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$2.58 BHD 0.97

-32.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.65 BHD 0.24

-61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$37.30 BHD 14.08

-66.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$5.19 BHD 1.96

-85.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$3.38 BHD 1.27

-93.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$15.88 BHD 5.99

-72.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$0.65 BHD 0.25

104.62%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$37.7K BHD 14.2K

-42.34%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$20.9K BHD 7,896

-7.29%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$151 BHD 57.1

-20.31%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$24.40 BHD 9.21

-40.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$34.61 BHD 13.06

-18.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$62.3 BHD 23.50

-47.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$30.23 BHD 11.41

-78.86%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$10.77 BHD 4.06

-49.30%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$488 BHD 184

-44.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$11.2K BHD 4,238

-27.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$50.7 BHD 19.13

-2.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$58.6 BHD 22.13

-57.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$86.1 BHD 32.51

-11.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$90.0 BHD 33.97

-34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$997 BHD 376

-49.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$650 BHD 245

-52.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$2,040 BHD 770

-48.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$1,399 BHD 528

-55.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$2,643 BHD 997

10.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$1,999 BHD 754

-6.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$2,382 BHD 899

-85.68%

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 5, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Manama

$650 41.6% 110% $341

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Manama

$248 15.9% 17.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Manama

$210 13.5% 28.8% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Manama

$128 8.2% 35.8% $34

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Manama

$180 11.5% 104% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Manama

$84 5.4% 92.2% $40

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Manama

$62 4% 301% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $997 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays 598% 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 $53.0 in Manama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $248 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

15:05 3:05 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.28 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.423 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Manama 7,850 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 64% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 598% lower in Manama. 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 $997 in Manama. 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 $1,536 in Manama – a 64% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 195% less than in Manama. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,536 in Manama, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Manama. 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 Manama, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Manama 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 64% less than in Manama. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.