Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Maputo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,109 in Maputo, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. The total is higher in Maputo despite lower rent and utilities.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
Learn more

Maputo Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,109

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Maputo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,109 in Maputo.

Cebu $934
Maputo $1,109

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,720 in Maputo.

Cebu $1,415
Maputo $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $2,331 in Maputo.

Cebu $1,896
Maputo $2,331

Living in Cebu costs roughly 16% less than in Maputo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Maputo 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$10.37 MZN 656

-70.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$63.2 MZN 3,995

-62.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$6.95 MZN 440

-41.15%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.28 MZN 144

10.53%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.87 MZN 55.2

77.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.73 MZN 46.29

-32.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$1.60 MZN 101

11.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.32 MZN 147

-2.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.52 MZN 96.1

28.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.00 MZN 63.0

43.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.67 MZN 106

-38.92%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.52 MZN 159

-18.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$21.02 MZN 1,329

-53.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$5.87 MZN 371

-21.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$5.59 MZN 353

37.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.99 MZN 126

66.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$0.79 MZN 50.2

83.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.71 MZN 108

38.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.09 MZN 68.7

41.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.03 MZN 65.4

129.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.75 MZN 47.25

165.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.96 MZN 61.0

19.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.91 MZN 57.4

-26.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$2.83 MZN 179

6.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$10.11 MZN 639

-37.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$0.98 MZN 61.7

33.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.32 MZN 83.6

31.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.37 MZN 23.45

-32.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$23.65 MZN 1,496

-46.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$1.60 MZN 101

-53.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$1.19 MZN 75.2

-82.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$24.44 MZN 1,546

-82.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.36 MZN 85.8

-2.21%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$31.7K MZN 2.0M

-31.44%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

-13.81%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$71.5 MZN 4,520

68.74%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$7.75 MZN 490

86.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$88.1 MZN 5,573

-67.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$42.26 MZN 2,673

-22.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$26.54 MZN 1,679

-75.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$7.88 MZN 499

-30.71%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$129 MZN 8,158

111.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$5,162 MZN 326.5K

58.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$49.15 MZN 3,109

0.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$55.3 MZN 3,496

-55.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$77.2 MZN 4,881

-0.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$78.1 MZN 4,940

-24.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$536 MZN 33.9K

-5.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$382 MZN 24.2K

-19.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$1,061 MZN 67.1K

-0.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$566 MZN 35.8K

9.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$4,129 MZN 261.1K

-29.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$2,051 MZN 129.7K

-8.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$325 MZN 20.6K

4.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-71.20%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Maputo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Maputo

$382 33.8% 23.5% $73

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Maputo

$225 19.9% 7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Maputo

$167 14.8% 2.4% $4

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Maputo

$117 10.3% 23.5% $22

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Maputo

$150 13.3% 70% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Maputo

$58 5.1% 33.1% $14

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Maputo

$33 2.9% 112% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $536 in Maputo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $63.0 in Maputo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $225 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇲🇿 Maputo

🕒 Local time

14:07 2:07 PM

08:07 8:07 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

1,244,227 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, 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 = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.94 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Maputo 10,640 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Maputo

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 Maputo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 19% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Cebu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $506 in Cebu versus $536 in Maputo. 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 $1,109 in Maputo – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 87% less than in Maputo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,109 in Maputo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Maputo. 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 Maputo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Maputo 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 19% less than in Maputo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.