Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mersa Matruh

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $457 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
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Mersa Matruh Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mersa Matruh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $457 in Mersa Matruh.

Cebu $915
Mersa Matruh $457

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $749 in Mersa Matruh.

Cebu $1,418
Mersa Matruh $749

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $1,040 in Mersa Matruh.

Cebu $1,921
Mersa Matruh $1,040

Living in Cebu is roughly 100% more expensive than in Mersa Matruh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Mersa Matruh 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱194

$4.20 E£234

-27.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,525

$19.05 E£1,062

25.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱254

$4.72 E£264

-15.47%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱159

$1.27 E£70.6

96.85%

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

$1.54 ₱98.0

$0.33 E£18.14

366.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.66

$0.11 E£6.01

354.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱113

$1.36 E£75.8

30.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱138

$2.79 E£156

-22.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱127

$0.87 E£48.65

129.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱87.0

$0.66 E£37.07

107.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱65.5

$0.65 E£36.07

58.46%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱129

$1.19 E£66.1

70.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱648

$3.80 E£212

168.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱283

$4.24 E£237

4.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱487

$9.23 E£515

-16.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱210

$1.54 E£86.1

114.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱92.7

$0.75 E£41.82

94.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱147

$0.55 E£30.85

321.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.9

$0.35 E£19.76

325.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱149

$0.26 E£14.59

800.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱123

$0.30 E£16.70

546.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.7

$0.27 E£15.19

329.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱43.30

$0.22 E£11.99

209.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱190

$1.85 E£103

61.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱397

$5.67 E£316

10.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱78.0

$1.25 E£69.6

-1.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱110

$2.28 E£127

-24.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.49

$0.21 E£11.72

9.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱784

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱50.4

$0.56 E£31.13

41.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.99

$0.17 E£9.23

29.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱288

$1.20 E£67.1

278.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱83.7

$0.43 E£24.06

206.98%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$32.5K E£1.8M

-35.33%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$27.1K E£1.5M

-28.33%

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

$119 ₱7,534

$14.05 E£784

743.77%

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

$14.22 ₱904

$6.68 E£373

112.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,746

$13.50 E£753

103.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,053

$15.88 E£885

103.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱413

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱343

$2.91 E£162

85.57%

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

$276 ₱17.5K

$85.0 E£4,740

224.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱499.9K

$2,090 E£116.6K

276.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,137

$33.72 E£1,881

46.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,562

$45.91 E£2,560

-46.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,870

$128 E£7,112

-39.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,741

$57.4 E£3,202

2.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱32.0K

$128 E£7,152

292.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.4K

$76.7 E£4,278

296.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱68.3K

$256 E£14.3K

320.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱40.2K

$144 E£8,048

338.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱182.4K

$772 E£43.0K

271.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱119.3K

$354 E£19.7K

430.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.3K

$94.2 E£5,253

256.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

21.33

-66.24%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mersa Matruh: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.8% 74.8% $228

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Mersa Matruh

$126 27.6% 39.7% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Mersa Matruh

$34 7.5% 78.6% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Mersa Matruh

$119 26% 26.3% $25

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.9% 12.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Mersa Matruh

$22 4.7% 49.7% $21

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Mersa Matruh

$2.2 * 0.5% 85.3% $13

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 $503 in Cebu and $128 in Mersa Matruh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $24 in Cebu vs $19 in Mersa Matruh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $126 per month, with Mersa Matruh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

10:20 10:20 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

140,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 63.55 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.3 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mersa Matruh 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mersa Matruh

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 Mersa Matruh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mersa Matruh is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cebu is about 3.6 times higher, 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: $503 in Cebu versus $128 in Mersa Matruh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $457 in Mersa Matruh – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $457 in Mersa Matruh versus $915 in Cebu, a $800 budget is realistic in Mersa Matruh but tight or insufficient in Cebu. The gap between the two cities makes Mersa Matruh the clear choice for anyone on this 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.

It comes down to priorities – Mersa Matruh wins on affordability, Cebu on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.