Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mestre

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,794 in Mestre, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Mestre
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Mestre Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Mestre

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mestre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,794 in Mestre.

Cebu $918
Mestre $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $2,822 in Mestre.

Cebu $1,409
Mestre $2,822

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $3,851 in Mestre.

Cebu $1,900
Mestre $3,851

Living in Cebu costs roughly 49% less than in Mestre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Mestre is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$13.40 €11.92

-76.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$89.4 €79.5

-72.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$12.08 €10.74

-67.55%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.13 €1.89

17.84%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$2.85 €2.54

-44.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.48 €1.31

-64.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.71 €5.97

-73.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$5.26 €4.68

-58.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.65 €1.47

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$2.47 €2.20

-44.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$3.05 €2.72

-66.89%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.78 €3.36

-46.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$17.04 €15.16

-42.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$12.85 €11.43

-65.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$21.43 €19.06

-64.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.02 €2.69

9.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.99 €1.77

-30.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$3.54 €3.15

-34.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$3.13 €2.78

-52.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.02 €1.80

16.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.25 €2.01

-15.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.66 €1.48

-28.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.58 €0.51

8.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$6.67 €5.94

-55.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.59 €5.87

-8.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.53 €1.36

-19.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.80 €1.60

-2.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.71 €1.53

-85.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$41.26 €36.70

-69.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$4.70 €4.18

-83.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.39 €1.24

-83.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$31.34 €27.88

-85.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.08 €1.85

-37.02%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$36.7K €32.6K

-42.06%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$35.7K €31.8K

-46.36%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$208 €185

-42.32%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$8.63 €7.67

62.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$30.10 €26.77

-8.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$47.40 €42.16

-31.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$19.69 €17.52

-66.23%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$11.11 €9.88

-49.14%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$681 €605

-59.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$11.4K €10.1K

-30.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$77.8 €69.2

-36.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$33.27 €29.60

-24.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$104 €92.7

-26.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$167 €148

-65.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$826 €735

-39.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$661 €588

-53.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,452 €1,291

-25.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$1,189 €1,057

-48.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,889 €1,681

52.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,579 €1,405

21.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,955 €1,739

-82.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.34

115.57%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mestre: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Mestre

$661 36.9% 114% $352

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Mestre

$354 19.7% 71.8% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Mestre

$247 13.8% 52.8% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Mestre

$172 9.6% 83.1% $78

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mestre

$230 12.8% 161% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Mestre

$70 3.9% 59.6% $26

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Mestre

$60 3.3% 284% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $826 in Mestre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mestre pays 465% 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 $89.0 in Mestre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $354 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇹 Mestre

🕒 Local time

02:05 2:05 AM

20:05 8:05 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

87,377

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Mestre 10,820 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mestre

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 Mestre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 95% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 465% lower in Mestre. 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 $826 in Mestre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,794 in Mestre – a 95% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 226% less than in Mestre. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,794 in Mestre, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Mestre. 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 Mestre, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Mestre 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 95% less than in Mestre. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.