Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Monastir

For one person, living is cheaper in Monastir: $706 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Cebu, Philippines
Monastir, Tunisia
Cebu
🇵🇭 Philippines
$934
/mo nomad
Monastir
🇹🇳 Tunisia
$706
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Monastir

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $706 in Monastir.

  • Cebu $934
  • Monastir $706

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,423 in Cebu versus $1,131 in Monastir.

  • Cebu $1,423
  • Monastir $1,131

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,913 in Cebu versus $1,555 in Monastir.

  • Cebu $1,913
  • Monastir $1,555

Living in Cebu is roughly 32% more expensive than in Monastir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 31% lower, Monastir 48% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.79 ₱243
$5.01 TND 15.08
-24.35%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$23.33 ₱1,493
$22.48 TND 67.7
3.78%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.94 ₱252
$6.15 TND 18.51
-35.93%
Cappuccino
$2.54 ₱163
$1.19 TND 3.59
113.45%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.57 ₱100
$0.74 TND 2.23
112.16%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.47 ₱29.87
$0.36 TND 1.09
30.56%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.77 ₱113
$1.63 TND 4.92
8.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.22 ₱142
$1.63 TND 4.91
36.20%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.90 ₱121
$0.44 TND 1.32
331.82%
White Bread (500g)
$1.36 ₱87.3
$0.17 TND 0.51
700.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.94 ₱59.9
$1.68 TND 5.05
-44.05%
Eggs
$1.99 ₱127
$1.58 TND 4.75
25.95%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.70 ₱621
$13.71 TND 41.29
-29.25%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.32 ₱276
$6.15 TND 18.52
-29.76%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.51 ₱481
$14.60 TND 43.97
-48.56%
Apples (1kg)
$3.31 ₱212
$2.01 TND 6.07
64.68%
Banana (1kg)
$1.37 ₱87.6
$4.40 TND 13.25
-68.86%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.34 ₱150
$1.20 TND 3.60
95.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.49 ₱95.5
$0.80 TND 2.40
86.25%
Potato (1kg)
$2.30 ₱147
$0.87 TND 2.63
164.37%
Onion (1kg)
$1.87 ₱120
$0.72 TND 2.17
159.72%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.10 ₱70.4
$0.44 TND 1.33
150.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.63 ₱40.42
$0.33 TND 1.01
90.91%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.86 ₱183
$3.74 TND 11.27
-23.53%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.08 ₱389
$5.70 TND 17.18
6.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.27 ₱81.6
$1.21 TND 3.65
4.96%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.72 ₱110
$1.32 TND 3.97
30.30%
🚌 Getting Around
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.22 ₱14.01
$0.32 TND 0.95
-31.25%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.34 ₱790
$11.01 TND 33.17
12.08%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.74 ₱47.60
$0.29 TND 0.87
155.17%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.22 ₱14.10
$0.29 TND 0.86
-24.14%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.28 ₱274
$1.77 TND 5.34
141.81%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 ₱83.8
$0.83 TND 2.49
57.83%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.8K ₱1.3M
$39.7K TND 119.6K
-47.69%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.0K ₱1.2M
$35.9K TND 108.3K
-47.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$118 ₱7,577
$61.5 TND 185
92.41%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$15.76 ₱1,009
$10.56 TND 31.82
49.24%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.33 ₱1,813
$20.06 TND 60.4
41.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$32.94 ₱2,108
$23.67 TND 71.3
39.16%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.49 ₱415
$6.63 TND 19.97
-2.11%
Cinema Ticket
$5.45 ₱349
$6.03 TND 18.17
-9.62%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$276 ₱17.6K
$94.4 TND 284
192.16%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,789 ₱498.4K
$3,205 TND 9,656
143.02%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$48.18 ₱3,083
$46.92 TND 141
2.69%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$24.47 ₱1,566
$67.5 TND 203
-63.73%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.3 ₱4,817
$111 TND 335
-32.34%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$58.0 ₱3,713
$97.2 TND 293
-40.29%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$477 ₱30.5K
$203 TND 610
135.54%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$322 ₱20.6K
$121 TND 363
166.93%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$963 ₱61.6K
$354 TND 1,067
171.99%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$626 ₱40.0K
$233 TND 703
168.14%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,551 ₱291.2K
$1,219 TND 3,671
273.52%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,028 ₱193.8K
$619 TND 1,864
389.35%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cebu
Monastir
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$333 ₱21.3K
$347 TND 1,044
-3.81%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.2
11
-34.55%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Monastir: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cebu
$322
Monastir
$121 62.5% $201
Groceries & Markets
Cebu
$204
Monastir
$210 3% $6.1
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
$163
Monastir
$92 43.3% $70
Eating Out
Cebu
$94
Monastir
$89 5.8% $5.5
Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
$93
Monastir
$145 56.7% $53
Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
$44
Monastir
$36 18.5% $8.1
Getting Around
Cebu
$15
Monastir
$14 7.1% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $477 in Cebu and $203 in Monastir. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monastir pays 4% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23 in Cebu vs $22 in Monastir. Groceries flip the comparison at $204 vs $210, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇵🇭 Cebu
🇹🇳 Monastir
🕒 Local time
23:19 11:19 PM
16:19 4:19 PM
7 h behind Cebu
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
964,169
104,535
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.22 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.01 TND (1 TND = 0.332 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cebu Monastir 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cebu
  • Monastir

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 Monastir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Monastir cheaper than Cebu?
Monastir is cheaper overall, especially in utilities, leisure, and eating out. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Cebu or Monastir?
On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Cebu. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Cebu and Monastir?
Rent for a central apartment: $477 in Cebu versus $203 in Monastir. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What are total monthly expenses in Cebu and in Monastir?
All in, you’ll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $706 in Monastir – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
A monthly transit pass in Monastir runs roughly 11% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.
Is it better to live in Cebu or in Monastir?
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.
Which city is safer, Cebu or Monastir?
Safety-wise, Cebu and Monastir are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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