Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mendrisio

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $3,034 in Mendrisio, rent and utilities included – about $25,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
Learn more

Mendrisio Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,034

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mendrisio

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $3,034 in Mendrisio.

Cebu $918
Mendrisio $3,034

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $3,758 in Mendrisio.

Cebu $1,409
Mendrisio $3,758

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,483 in Mendrisio.

Cebu $1,900
Mendrisio $4,483

Living in Cebu costs roughly 70% less than in Mendrisio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Mendrisio is 125% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$34.26 CHF 28.21

-90.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$177 CHF 146

-86.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$18.99 CHF 15.64

-79.36%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.80 CHF 3.96

-47.71%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$5.41 CHF 4.46

-70.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$4.37 CHF 3.60

-87.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$8.36 CHF 6.88

-78.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$7.03 CHF 5.79

-69.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.18 CHF 1.80

-11.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$3.70 CHF 3.04

-63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$4.15 CHF 3.42

-75.66%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$7.07 CHF 5.83

-71.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$25.44 CHF 20.95

-61.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$28.11 CHF 23.15

-84.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$39.04 CHF 32.15

-80.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.15 CHF 2.60

4.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.70 CHF 1.40

-18.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.56 CHF 2.11

-8.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$6.49 CHF 5.35

-76.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.84 CHF 1.52

28.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-10.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$2.34 CHF 1.93

-49.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$1.16 CHF 0.96

-45.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$10.74 CHF 8.84

-72.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$14.64 CHF 12.06

-58.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.36 CHF 2.77

-63.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$4.08 CHF 3.36

-57.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

$3.03 CHF 2.50

-91.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$7.07 CHF 5.82

-89.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$5.38 CHF 4.43

-95.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$78.3 CHF 64.5

-94.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.20 CHF 1.81

-40.45%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$34.6K CHF 28.5K

-38.64%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$38.6K CHF 31.8K

-50.37%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$304 CHF 250

-60.41%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$25.15 CHF 20.71

-44.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$48.38 CHF 39.85

-43.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$73.1 CHF 60.2

-55.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$21.74 CHF 17.91

-74.01%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$3,187 CHF 2,625

-91.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$38.5K CHF 31.7K

-79.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$107 CHF 87.8

-53.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$47.52 CHF 39.14

-46.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$164 CHF 135

-53.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$166 CHF 137

-65.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,381 CHF 1,137

-63.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$1,199 CHF 987

-74.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$6,944 CHF 5,719

-95.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

2.37

203.80%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mendrisio: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Mendrisio

$1.2K 39.5% 288% $890

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Mendrisio

$594 19.6% 188% $388

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Mendrisio

$377 12.4% 133% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Mendrisio

$218 7.2% 132% $124

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mendrisio

$484 15.9% 448% $395

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Mendrisio

$117 3.8% 167% $73

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Mendrisio

$46 * 1.5% 196% $31

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 $500 in Cebu and $1,381 in Mendrisio. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mendrisio pays 1907% 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: $24.00 in Cebu vs $177 in Mendrisio for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $594 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🕒 Local time

23:33 11:33 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

15,562

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mendrisio 11,030 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mendrisio

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 Mendrisio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 231% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1907% lower in Mendrisio. 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 $1,381 in Mendrisio. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 188% higher in Mendrisio. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $3,034 in Mendrisio – a 231% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $3,034 in Mendrisio, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Mendrisio. 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 Mendrisio, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Mendrisio 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 231% less than in Mendrisio. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.