Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mardan

For one person, living is cheaper in Mardan: $502 a month against $943 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Mardan
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Mardan Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$943

/mo nomad

Mardan

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$502

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mardan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $943 in Cebu versus $502 in Mardan.

Cebu $943
Mardan $502

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,437 in Cebu versus $788 in Mardan.

Cebu $1,437
Mardan $788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,930 in Cebu versus $1,075 in Mardan.

Cebu $1,930
Mardan $1,075

Living in Cebu is roughly 88% more expensive than in Mardan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Mardan 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 ₱244

$3.55 PKR 981

9.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.22 ₱1,462

$24.04 PKR 6,643

-3.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 ₱246

$5.30 PKR 1,465

-26.42%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.68 PKR 1,017

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 PKR 1,923

Cappuccino

$2.56 ₱161

$2.65 PKR 731

-3.40%

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

$1.60 ₱101

$0.34 PKR 94.1

370.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₱32.03

$0.22 PKR 60.6

131.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 ₱111

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ₱136

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.89 PKR 245

123.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.3

$0.74 PKR 205

85.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ₱59.9

$1.24 PKR 343

-23.39%

Eggs

$2.02 ₱127

$1.15 PKR 319

75.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 ₱606

$2.88 PKR 795

234.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 ₱274

$2.98 PKR 823

45.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱485

$3.74 PKR 1,033

105.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱207

$0.91 PKR 253

262.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ₱79.7

$0.73 PKR 202

73.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ₱148

$1.03 PKR 286

127.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 ₱95.4

$0.38 PKR 104

297.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 ₱141

$0.30 PKR 83.3

643.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 ₱122

$0.37 PKR 101

421.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ₱74.4

$0.30 PKR 83.7

293.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ₱40.93

$0.34 PKR 95.3

91.18%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.80 PKR 497

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 PKR 332

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 PKR 666

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 ₱182

$1.77 PKR 490

63.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱400

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱80.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 ₱103

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.42

$0.16 PKR 45.44

43.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.24 ₱771

$9.28 PKR 2,565

31.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.5

$1.24 PKR 344

-33.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.56

$0.69 PKR 190

-71.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.32 ₱272

$1.65 PKR 457

161.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 ₱86.7

$1.01 PKR 279

36.63%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$21.6K PKR 6.0M

-1.76%

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

$19.3K ₱1.2M

$23.1K PKR 6.4M

-16.53%

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

$124 ₱7,816

$102 PKR 28.3K

21.34%

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

$15.93 ₱1,003

$5.95 PKR 1,645

167.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 ₱1,768

$17.03 PKR 4,706

64.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.41 ₱2,104

$16.14 PKR 4,460

107.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.40 ₱403

$7.66 PKR 2,118

-16.45%

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ₱368

$5.02 PKR 1,387

16.53%

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

$271 ₱17.0K

$41.83 PKR 11.6K

546.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,060 ₱507.5K

$1,045 PKR 288.8K

671.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.31 ₱3,042

$25.92 PKR 7,162

86.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.56 ₱1,546

$35.23 PKR 9,735

-30.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 ₱4,856

$96.2 PKR 26.6K

-19.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.5 ₱3,558

$40.90 PKR 11.3K

38.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$495 ₱31.2K

$138 PKR 38.0K

259.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 ₱20.3K

$85.4 PKR 23.6K

276.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$990 ₱62.4K

$265 PKR 73.3K

273.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$628 ₱39.6K

$179 PKR 49.5K

250.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,459 ₱280.7K

$896 PKR 247.5K

397.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,030 ₱190.8K

$432 PKR 119.4K

601.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$343 ₱21.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

13.08

-44.95%

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

Last update for Cebu: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mardan: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$322 34.1%

Mardan

$85 17% 73.4% $236

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 21.8%

Mardan

$83 16.5% 59.9% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$168 17.8%

Mardan

$125 25% 25.5% $43

Eating Out

Cebu

$95 10.1%

Mardan

$78 15.6% 17.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$93 9.9%

Mardan

$89 17.8% 4% $3.7

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$45 4.8%

Mardan

$26 5.2% 42% $19

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.6%

Mardan

$15 2.9% 2.3% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $495 in Cebu and $138 in Mardan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $23 in Cebu vs $24 in Mardan. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $83, with Mardan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇵🇰 Mardan

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

11:18 11:18 AM

3 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

358,604

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 62.97 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.68 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 276 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mardan 5,880 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mardan

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 Mardan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mardan is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,415 in Cebu and $752 in Mardan 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: $495 in Cebu versus $138 in Mardan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $943 per month in Cebu versus $502 in Mardan – Mardan is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mardan runs roughly 24% less than in Cebu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.