Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Nagasaki

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,277 in Nagasaki, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Nagasaki
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Nagasaki Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Nagasaki

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,277

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Nagasaki

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,277 in Nagasaki.

Cebu $918
Nagasaki $1,277

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,859 in Nagasaki.

Cebu $1,409
Nagasaki $1,859

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,441 in Nagasaki.

Cebu $1,900
Nagasaki $2,441

Living in Cebu costs roughly 28% less than in Nagasaki, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Nagasaki 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$5.00 ¥789

-38.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$18.95 ¥2,994

27.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$4.92 ¥778

-20.33%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$3.76 ¥594

-33.24%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.05 ¥166

51.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.72 ¥113

-26.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.24 ¥355

-20.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.25 ¥356

-3.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.55 ¥244

23.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.89 ¥299

-28.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$6.32 ¥998

-84.02%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.02 ¥319

0.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$9.69 ¥1,531

1.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.18 ¥502

38.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$19.16 ¥3,028

-60.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.71 ¥586

-11.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.88 ¥296

-26.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.76 ¥435

-15.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$3.35 ¥530

-55.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.15 ¥340

9.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.55 ¥402

-25.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.07 ¥170

11.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.92 ¥146

-31.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.97 ¥628

-24.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.18 ¥977

-2.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.64 ¥260

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.85 ¥292

-5.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.65 ¥261

-84.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$53.9 ¥8,518

-76.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$3.96 ¥625

-80.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$2.03 ¥321

-88.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$17.87 ¥2,823

-75.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.07 ¥169

22.43%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$22.0K ¥3.5M

-3.37%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$17.7K ¥2.8M

8.34%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$209 ¥33.0K

-42.46%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$24.63 ¥3,892

-43.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$32.77 ¥5,178

-15.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$46.08 ¥7,281

-29.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$11.22 ¥1,772

-49.64%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$126 ¥19.8K

119.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$12.3K ¥1.9M

-35.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$49.78 ¥7,864

-0.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$26.03 ¥4,113

-3.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$66.6 ¥10.5K

15.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$47.35 ¥7,480

20.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$535 ¥84.6K

-6.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$380 ¥60.1K

-18.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,193 ¥188.5K

-9.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$683 ¥108.0K

-9.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$4,200 ¥663.6K

-31.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,759 ¥277.9K

8.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

1.97

265.48%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nagasaki: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Nagasaki

$380 29.8% 23.1% $71

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Nagasaki

$279 21.9% 35.5% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Nagasaki

$266 20.9% 64.6% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Nagasaki

$85 6.7% 9.1% $8.5

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Nagasaki

$123 9.6% 38.9% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Nagasaki

$69 5.4% 57.1% $25

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Nagasaki

$75 5.8% 379% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $535 in Nagasaki. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $19.00 in Nagasaki. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $279, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇯🇵 Nagasaki

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

16:24 4:24 PM

1 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

409,118

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

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Between locations

Cebu Nagasaki 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Cebu
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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 Nagasaki: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 39% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $1,915 in Nagasaki to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $535 in Nagasaki. 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 $1,277 in Nagasaki – a 39% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 327% less than in Nagasaki. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,277 in Nagasaki, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Nagasaki. 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 Nagasaki, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Nagasaki 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 39% less than in Nagasaki. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.