Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Shillong

For one person, living is cheaper in Shillong: $402 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Shillong
Learn more

Shillong Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Shillong

🇮🇳 India

$402

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Shillong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $402 in Shillong.

Cebu $918
Shillong $402

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $638 in Shillong.

Cebu $1,409
Shillong $638

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $874 in Shillong.

Cebu $1,900
Shillong $874

Living in Cebu is roughly 128% more expensive than in Shillong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$3.35 ₹318

-7.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$11.44 ₹1,086

111.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$4.81 ₹457

-18.50%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.66 ₹157

51.20%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.41 ₹38.88

287.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.15 ₹13.94

253.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.22 ₹116

45.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.49 ₹331

-37.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$0.61 ₹57.9

214.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$0.31 ₹29.06

338.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$0.58 ₹55.4

74.14%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$0.92 ₹86.9

120.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$3.86 ₹366

155.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.43 ₹231

80.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.16 ₹205

52.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$0.68 ₹64.4

104.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.93 ₹88.4

150.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$0.52 ₹49.21

188.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.31 ₹29.25

661.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.35 ₹32.78

442.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.22 ₹20.90

440.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.25 ₹23.68

152.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.11 ₹485

-41.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$4.83 ₹458

24.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.28 ₹121

-3.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.97 ₹187

-11.17%

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

$4.78 ₹453

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$0.74 ₹70.3

4.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$0.28 ₹26.52

-17.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.29 ₹123

245.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.09 ₹104

20.18%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$12.6K ₹1.2M

68.22%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$16.0K ₹1.5M

19.29%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$34.74 ₹3,298

246.09%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$3.29 ₹313

325.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$6.12 ₹581

350.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$9.99 ₹948

223.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$5.11 ₹486

30.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.10 ₹294

82.26%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$27.65 ₹2,626

895.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$1,164 ₹110.5K

580.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$17.41 ₹1,653

183.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$22.11 ₹2,100

14.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$36.74 ₹3,489

109.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$27.45 ₹2,606

108.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$210 ₹19.9K

138.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$131 ₹12.4K

136.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$727 ₹69.0K

48.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$284 ₹26.9K

116.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$442 ₹41.9K

-21.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.38

-2.44%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Shillong: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Shillong

$131 32.5% 57.7% $178

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Shillong

$86 21.3% 58.4% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Shillong

$44 11% 72.7% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Shillong

$47 11.6% 50.3% $47

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Shillong

$76 19% 13.4% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Shillong

$16 4% 62.9% $27

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Shillong

$2.1 * 0.5% 86.3% $13

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 $210 in Shillong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shillong pays 28% 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 $11.00 in Shillong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $86.0 per month, with Shillong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Shillong

🕒 Local time

10:37 10:37 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

143,000

💱 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 = 9.35 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 = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.93 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Shillong 3,770 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Shillong

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 Shillong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shillong is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 128% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Shillong. 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 $210 in Shillong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 141% 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 $402 in Shillong – a 128% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Shillong 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 Shillong 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 Shillong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 128% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.