Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mbeya

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbeya: $419 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Mbeya
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Mbeya Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Mbeya

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$419

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mbeya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $419 in Mbeya.

Cebu $934
Mbeya $419

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $653 in Mbeya.

Cebu $1,415
Mbeya $653

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $888 in Mbeya.

Cebu $1,896
Mbeya $888

Living in Cebu is roughly 123% more expensive than in Mbeya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Mbeya 69% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$22.66 TZS 59.5K

3.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$7.48 TZS 19.6K

-45.32%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$1.54 TZS 4,050

63.64%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.37 TZS 961

316.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.39 TZS 1,033

25.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$0.72 TZS 1,899

148.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$0.55 TZS 1,441

254.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.98 TZS 2,578

45.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$0.97 TZS 2,545

5.15%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.22 TZS 5,821

-7.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$3.70 TZS 9,713

165.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$3.74 TZS 9,806

23.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$3.49 TZS 9,148

120.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.11 TZS 2,924

198.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$0.78 TZS 2,056

85.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.99 TZS 2,610

138.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$0.74 TZS 1,954

108.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.93 TZS 2,439

153.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.73 TZS 1,928

172.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.58 TZS 1,529

98.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.78 TZS 2,048

-14.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$1.12 TZS 2,943

167.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$3.82 TZS 10.0K

66.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$0.73 TZS 1,908

79.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.11 TZS 2,923

55.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.36 TZS 957

-30.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$1.11 TZS 2,906

-33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$1.91 TZS 5,024

-89.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$2.68 TZS 7,031

61.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.19 TZS 3,111

11.76%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

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

$121 ₱7,563

$23.67 TZS 62.1K

409.42%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$18.99 TZS 49.8K

-23.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$44.78 TZS 117.5K

-36.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$38.23 TZS 100.3K

-14.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$9.65 TZS 25.3K

-43.42%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$186 TZS 487.8K

47.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$1,137 TZS 3.0M

617.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$11.26 TZS 29.6K

340.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$9.75 TZS 25.6K

155.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$18.97 TZS 49.8K

303.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$26.24 TZS 68.8K

125.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$112 TZS 294.2K

351.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$76.4 TZS 200.5K

304.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$190 TZS 497.9K

454.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$114 TZS 299.3K

442.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$191 TZS 501.0K

78.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-44.62%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mbeya: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Mbeya

$76 17.9% 75.3% $233

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Mbeya

$116 27.1% 45% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Mbeya

$87 20.5% 46.5% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Mbeya

$30 7% 68.5% $65

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mbeya

$48 * 11.2% 46.1% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Mbeya

$58 13.5% 31.9% $14

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Mbeya

$12 * 2.8% 21.4% $3.3

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 $506 in Cebu and $112 in Mbeya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 79% 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 $23.00 in Mbeya. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $116, with Mbeya cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇿 Mbeya

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

14:10 2:10 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

541,603

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, 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).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mbeya 10,230 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mbeya

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 Mbeya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mbeya is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 79% 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 $112 in Mbeya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $419 in Mbeya – a 123% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Mbeya gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Mbeya 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 Mbeya 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 Mbeya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 123% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.