Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Phitsanulok

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Phitsanulok: $918 and $877 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Phitsanulok
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Phitsanulok Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Phitsanulok

🇹🇭 Thailand

$877

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Phitsanulok

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $877 in Phitsanulok.

Cebu $918
Phitsanulok $877

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,448 in Phitsanulok.

Cebu $1,409
Phitsanulok $1,448

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,020 in Phitsanulok.

Cebu $1,900
Phitsanulok $2,020

Living in Cebu is roughly 5% more expensive than in Phitsanulok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Phitsanulok 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.13 ฿71.1

45.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$19.26 ฿644

25.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.45 ฿182

-28.07%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.73 ฿58.0

45.09%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.70 ฿23.37

127.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.32 ฿10.66

65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.34 ฿78.2

-23.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.75 ฿125

-42.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.96 ฿65.5

-2.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.46 ฿48.77

-6.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.36 ฿45.43

-25.74%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.19 ฿73.3

-7.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$16.74 ฿559

-41.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.71 ฿90.5

61.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.29 ฿311

-18.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.41 ฿80.6

36.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.99 ฿33.24

40.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.60 ฿53.6

45.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.45 ฿48.39

3.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.25 ฿41.83

88.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.07 ฿35.61

77.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.75 ฿25.14

58.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.51 ฿16.95

23.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.34 ฿145

-30.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$17.92 ฿599

-66.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.55 ฿52.0

-20.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.73 ฿91.1

-35.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.92 ฿30.59

-72.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.20 ฿40.19

-35.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.57 ฿18.91

-59.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$2.36 ฿78.9

88.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.44 ฿48.11

-9.03%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$20.4K ฿682.8K

3.98%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$26.4K ฿883.1K

-27.54%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$61.3 ฿2,048

96.17%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$12.06 ฿403

16.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$20.21 ฿675

36.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$47.45 ฿1,586

-31.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$14.34 ฿479

-53.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$6.62 ฿221

-14.65%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$769 ฿25.7K

-64.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$14.9K ฿499.4K

-47.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$55.2 ฿1,844

-10.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$24.45 ฿817

3.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$91.4 ฿3,053

-15.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$70.7 ฿2,364

-19.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$451 ฿15.1K

10.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$293 ฿9,779

5.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,395 ฿46.6K

-22.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$748 ฿25.0K

-17.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,902 ฿63.6K

51.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,597 ฿53.4K

19.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$481 ฿16.1K

-28.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.57

29.26%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phitsanulok: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Phitsanulok

$293 33.4% 5.3% $16

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Phitsanulok

$236 26.9% 14.5% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Phitsanulok

$94 10.7% 42.2% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Phitsanulok

$109 12.4% 15.8% $15

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Phitsanulok

$77 8.8% 12.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Phitsanulok

$61 6.9% 39.1% $17

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Phitsanulok

$7.7 * 0.9% 50.6% $7.9

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 $451 in Phitsanulok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phitsanulok pays 39% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $19.00 in Phitsanulok. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $236, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇭 Phitsanulok

🕒 Local time

06:46 6:46 AM

05:46 5:46 AM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

66,106

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR 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 = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Phitsanulok 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Phitsanulok

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 Phitsanulok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phitsanulok is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and transport. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 39% lower in Phitsanulok. 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 $451 in Phitsanulok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cebu pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $877 in Phitsanulok – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Phitsanulok gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Phitsanulok is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Phitsanulok 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 Phitsanulok gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.