Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Middelburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,283 in Middelburg, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
112

Cost of Living Index in Middelburg
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Middelburg Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Middelburg

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,283

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Middelburg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $2,283 in Middelburg.

Cebu $918
Middelburg $2,283

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $3,354 in Middelburg.

Cebu $1,409
Middelburg $3,354

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,425 in Middelburg.

Cebu $1,900
Middelburg $4,425

Living in Cebu costs roughly 60% less than in Middelburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Middelburg is 69% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$13.10 €11.65

-76.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$89.9 €80.0

-73.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$12.20 €10.86

-67.87%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.11 €3.65

-38.93%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$3.41 €3.04

-53.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$3.19 €2.84

-83.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$7.01 €6.23

-74.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$6.89 €6.13

-68.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.36 €1.21

41.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$2.21 €1.96

-38.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.97 €1.76

-48.73%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$4.45 €3.95

-54.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$12.33 €10.96

-20.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$12.89 €11.47

-65.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$19.18 €17.06

-60.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.68 €2.39

23.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.25 €2.00

-38.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.03 €1.80

14.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$3.55 €3.16

-57.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.29 €1.15

82.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.14 €1.02

66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.12 €1.00

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.92 €0.82

-31.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$11.61 €10.32

-74.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$5.78 €5.14

4.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.35 €1.20

-8.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.86 €1.65

-5.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$4.59 €4.09

-83.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$3.46 €3.08

-93.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$33.26 €29.58

-86.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.32 €2.06

-43.53%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$41.7K €37.1K

-49.02%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$38.1K €33.9K

-49.81%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$142 €127

-15.52%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$28.79 €25.60

-51.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$53.9 €47.91

-48.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$45.01 €40.03

-28.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$14.09 €12.53

-52.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.14 €9.02

-44.28%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$2,381 €2,117

-88.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$11.7K €10.4K

-32.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$95.4 €84.9

-48.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$43.76 €38.93

-42.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$106 €94.2

-27.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$140 €124

-59.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,407 €1,252

-64.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$1,215 €1,081

-74.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$2,045 €1,819

-47.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$1,874 €1,667

-67.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$4,112 €3,658

-91.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.4

111.76%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Middelburg: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Middelburg

$1.2K 53.2% 294% $907

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Middelburg

$317 13.9% 53.9% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Middelburg

$225 9.9% 39.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Middelburg

$173 7.6% 84.4% $79

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Middelburg

$266 11.6% 201% $178

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Middelburg

$65 2.9% 49.7% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Middelburg

$22 * 1% 40.6% $6.3

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 $500 in Cebu and $1,407 in Middelburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middelburg pays 1089% 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 $90.0 in Middelburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $317 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇳🇱 Middelburg

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

17:06 5:06 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

40,345

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 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 Middelburg 11,090 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Middelburg

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 Middelburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 149% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1089% lower in Middelburg. 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 $1,407 in Middelburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Middelburg. 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 $2,283 in Middelburg – a 149% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,283 in Middelburg, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Middelburg. 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 Middelburg, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Middelburg 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 149% less than in Middelburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.