Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
Learn more

Sabratha Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Sabratha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $406 in Sabratha.

Cebu $918
Sabratha $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $597 in Sabratha.

Cebu $1,409
Sabratha $597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $787 in Sabratha.

Cebu $1,900
Sabratha $787

Living in Cebu is roughly 126% more expensive than in Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Sabratha 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$3.04 LYD 19.46

1.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$9.22 LYD 59.1

162.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$1.52 LYD 9.75

157.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$0.48 LYD 3.09

422.92%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.30 LYD 1.90

430.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.07 LYD 0.44

657.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.89 LYD 5.67

115.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.22 LYD 1.41

518.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.10 LYD 7.07

-8.18%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.37 LYD 8.76

48.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$5.27 LYD 33.79

87.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.48 LYD 22.32

26.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.58 LYD 61.4

-20.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.00 LYD 12.79

65.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.54 LYD 9.89

-9.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.73 LYD 4.70

219.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.57 LYD 3.64

163.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.49 LYD 3.13

381.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.29 LYD 1.89

555.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.32 LYD 2.06

271.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.17 LYD 1.06

270.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 LYD 5.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LYD 5.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.84 LYD 11.79

63.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.75 LYD 4.80

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.76 LYD 4.88

1.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.30 LYD 1.89

-23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$0.81 LYD 5.22

450.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.02 LYD 0.14

6450.00%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$22.9K LYD 146.9K

-7.32%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$21.3K LYD 136.5K

-10.08%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$92.0 LYD 590

30.66%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.99 LYD 25.56

250.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$13.73 LYD 88.0

100.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$10.85 LYD 69.5

197.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$7.74 LYD 49.62

-14.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$39.51 LYD 253

596.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$945 LYD 6,055

737.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$19.54 LYD 125

152.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$17.60 LYD 113

43.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$64.6 LYD 414

19.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$15.66 LYD 100

265.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$158 LYD 1,011

216.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$78.2 LYD 501

294.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$229 LYD 1,466

371.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$110 LYD 705

458.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$281 LYD 1,802

926.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$185 LYD 1,183

938.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$189 LYD 1,212

82.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Sabratha

$78 19.3% 74.7% $231

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Sabratha

$113 27.9% 45% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Sabratha

$110 27% 32.2% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Sabratha

$53 13% 43.7% $41

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Sabratha

$36 8.9% 59.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 75.1% $33

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Sabratha

$5.2 * 1.3% 66.3% $10

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 $158 in Sabratha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 83% 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 $9.00 in Sabratha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $113 per month, with Sabratha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

22:17 10:17 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

83,398

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, 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).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Sabratha 11,320 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Sabratha

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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabratha is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 126% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 83% higher in Cebu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $158 in Sabratha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Cebu. 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 $406 in Sabratha – a 126% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Sabratha 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 Sabratha 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 Sabratha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 126% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.