Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Sambalpur

For one person, living is cheaper in Sambalpur: $326 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Sambalpur
Learn more

Sambalpur Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Sambalpur

🇮🇳 India

$326

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Sambalpur

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $326 in Sambalpur.

Cebu $918
Sambalpur $326

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $520 in Sambalpur.

Cebu $1,409
Sambalpur $520

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $713 in Sambalpur.

Cebu $1,900
Sambalpur $713

Living in Cebu is roughly 181% more expensive than in Sambalpur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Sambalpur 76% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.05 ₹195

50.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$5.10 ₹484

374.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$2.33 ₹221

68.24%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.43 ₹136

75.52%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.20 ₹18.96

695.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.14 ₹13.13

278.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.12 ₹106

58.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.06 ₹291

-29.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.54 ₹51.3

255.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.47 ₹44.32

189.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.53 ₹50.7

90.57%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.91 ₹86.4

123.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.33 ₹317

196.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.38 ₹226

84.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.04 ₹193

61.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.75 ₹71.6

85.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.28 ₹122

82.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.48 ₹45.16

212.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.28 ₹26.41

742.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.37 ₹35.57

413.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.51 ₹48.76

133.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.33 ₹30.91

90.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.33 ₹316

-9.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.70 ₹731

-21.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.12 ₹107

9.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.45 ₹233

-28.57%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.64 ₹536

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.53 ₹50.7

-52.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$13.09 ₹1,243

-3.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.08 ₹103

-28.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.13 ₹12.42

76.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.02 ₹96.8

337.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.91 ₹86.7

43.96%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$6,693 ₹635.6K

217.38%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$14.0K ₹1.3M

36.79%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$34.00 ₹3,228

253.62%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.18 ₹302

340.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$6.09 ₹578

352.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$20.86 ₹1,981

54.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$3.63 ₹344

83.20%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.22 ₹306

75.47%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$64.5 ₹6,129

326.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$2,343 ₹222.5K

238.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$17.48 ₹1,660

182.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$25.71 ₹2,442

-1.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$46.72 ₹4,436

64.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$21.79 ₹2,069

162.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$58.2 ₹5,531

757.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$41.59 ₹3,950

642.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$178 ₹16.9K

506.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$128 ₹12.1K

381.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$601 ₹57.1K

380.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$510 ₹48.5K

275.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$362 ₹34.4K

-4.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-20.00%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sambalpur: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Sambalpur

$42 12.7% 86.5% $267

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Sambalpur

$93 28.6% 54.6% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Sambalpur

$43 13.3% 73.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Sambalpur

$50 15.4% 46.5% $44

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Sambalpur

$54 16.4% 39.2% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Sambalpur

$27 8.4% 37.4% $16

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Sambalpur

$17 5.2% 8.9% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $58.2 in Sambalpur. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sambalpur pays 5% 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 $5.00 in Sambalpur for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $93.0 per month, with Sambalpur cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Sambalpur

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

184,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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 = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Sambalpur 4,430 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Sambalpur

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 Sambalpur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sambalpur is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 181% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 5% lower in Sambalpur. 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 $58.2 in Sambalpur. 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 $326 in Sambalpur – a 181% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sambalpur runs roughly 4% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Sambalpur gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Sambalpur 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 Sambalpur 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 Sambalpur gentler on the wallet – expenses run 181% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.