Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mandi

For one person, living is cheaper in Mandi: $371 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Mandi
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Mandi Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Mandi

🇮🇳 India

$371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mandi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $371 in Mandi.

Cebu $918
Mandi $371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $570 in Mandi.

Cebu $1,409
Mandi $570

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $769 in Mandi.

Cebu $1,900
Mandi $769

Living in Cebu is roughly 147% more expensive than in Mandi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Mandi 72% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$1.02 ₹97.2

202.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$10.46 ₹994

131.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$3.65 ₹346

7.40%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$0.86 ₹81.9

191.86%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.36 ₹33.97

341.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.09 ₹8.54

488.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.90 ₹181

-6.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.89 ₹275

-24.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.62 ₹58.4

209.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.53 ₹50.8

156.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.63 ₹59.9

60.32%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.87 ₹83.0

133.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$2.58 ₹245

282.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.14 ₹203

105.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.07 ₹102

208.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.71 ₹67.8

95.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.51 ₹48.40

356.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.30 ₹28.41

400.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.28 ₹26.55

742.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.34 ₹32.16

458.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.32 ₹30.60

271.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.20 ₹18.99

215.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.15 ₹489

-41.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$8.61 ₹817

-29.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.48 ₹140

-16.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.00 ₹189

-12.50%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.95 ₹470

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.25 ₹23.61

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$7.39 ₹701

71.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.04 ₹98.4

-25.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.30 ₹28.36

-23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.38 ₹131

223.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.01 ₹95.9

29.70%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$13.0K ₹1.2M

62.99%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$18.1K ₹1.7M

5.93%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$65.0 ₹6,175

84.88%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.62 ₹344

286.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$7.08 ₹673

288.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$14.24 ₹1,352

127.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$6.47 ₹614

2.78%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.64 ₹346

55.22%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$49.57 ₹4,707

455.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$1,418 ₹134.7K

458.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$24.98 ₹2,372

97.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$28.30 ₹2,687

-10.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$39.12 ₹3,715

96.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$38.42 ₹3,649

48.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$129 ₹12.3K

286.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$74.8 ₹7,106

312.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$266 ₹25.3K

305.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$174 ₹16.5K

253.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$837 ₹79.5K

244.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$558 ₹53.0K

243.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$424 ₹40.3K

-18.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

8.88

-18.92%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mandi: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Mandi

$75 20.2% 75.8% $234

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Mandi

$83 22.3% 59.7% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Mandi

$76 20.4% 53.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Mandi

$59 15.9% 37.3% $35

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mandi

$47 12.5% 47.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Mandi

$22 5.8% 50.7% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Mandi

$11 2.9% 29.9% $4.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $129 in Mandi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mandi pays 23% 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 $10.00 in Mandi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $83.0 per month, with Mandi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Mandi

🕒 Local time

22:54 10:54 PM

20:24 8:24 PM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

100,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mandi 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mandi

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 Mandi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mandi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 147% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Mandi. 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 $129 in Mandi. 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 $371 in Mandi – a 147% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Mandi runs roughly 71% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Mandi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Mandi 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 Mandi 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 Mandi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.