Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mlava

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,406 in Mlava, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Mlava
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Mlava Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Mlava

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mlava

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,406 in Mlava.

Cebu $918
Mlava $1,406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,992 in Mlava.

Cebu $1,409
Mlava $1,992

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,577 in Mlava.

Cebu $1,900
Mlava $2,577

Living in Cebu costs roughly 35% less than in Mlava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Mlava is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$10.13 zł 39.35

-69.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$25.39 zł 98.7

-4.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.60 zł 29.51

-48.42%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.50 zł 9.70

0.40%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.86 zł 7.24

-14.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.61 zł 6.25

-67.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.47 zł 9.58

-27.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.78 zł 14.69

-42.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.04 zł 4.04

84.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.66 zł 6.46

-18.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.96 zł 3.74

5.21%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.64 zł 14.13

-44.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$8.72 zł 33.87

13.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.86 zł 26.65

-36.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$11.68 zł 45.38

-34.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.36 zł 5.27

142.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.73 zł 6.71

-19.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.56 zł 6.05

49.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$3.23 zł 12.55

-53.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.98 zł 3.81

140.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.31 zł 5.11

45.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.10 zł 4.27

8.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.69 zł 2.68

-8.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.58 zł 17.79

-34.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.42 zł 24.94

-6.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.06 zł 4.12

16.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.39 zł 5.41

25.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.96 zł 3.71

-73.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$32.25 zł 125

-60.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$2.10 zł 8.14

-63.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.83 zł 3.21

-72.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$9.71 zł 37.71

-54.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.57 zł 6.10

-16.56%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.7K zł 119.1K

-30.71%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$27.4K zł 106.6K

-30.20%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$283 zł 1,099

-57.51%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$6.26 zł 24.33

123.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$7.61 zł 29.55

261.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$37.86 zł 147

-14.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$22.41 zł 87.1

-70.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$5.21 zł 20.24

8.45%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$329 zł 1,279

-16.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$5,139 zł 20.0K

54.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$80.3 zł 312

-38.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$37.28 zł 145

-32.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$87.5 zł 340

-12.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$76.1 zł 296

-24.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$608 zł 2,363

-17.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$505 zł 1,962

-38.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$979 zł 3,802

10.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$805 zł 3,129

-23.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,881 zł 11.2K

0.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$2,203 zł 8,560

-13.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,013 zł 3,935

-65.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.89

4.50%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mlava: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Mlava

$505 35.9% 63.5% $196

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Mlava

$220 15.6% 6.7% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Mlava

$297 21.1% 83.5% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Mlava

$127 9% 34.7% $33

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mlava

$168 11.9% 89.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Mlava

$48 3.4% 10.7% $4.7

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Mlava

$42 3% 172% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $608 in Mlava. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mlava pays 193% 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 $25.00 in Mlava for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $220 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇵🇱 Mlava

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

02:26 2:26 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

31,130

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mlava 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mlava

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 Mlava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 53% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 193% lower in Mlava. 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 $608 in Mlava. 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 $1,406 in Mlava – a 53% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 155% less than in Mlava. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,406 in Mlava, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Mlava. 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 Mlava, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Mlava 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 53% less than in Mlava. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.