Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Siem Reap

For one person, living is cheaper in Siem Reap: $806 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Siem Reap
Learn more

Siem Reap Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Siem Reap

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Siem Reap

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $806 in Siem Reap.

Cebu $918
Siem Reap $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,247 in Siem Reap.

Cebu $1,409
Siem Reap $1,247

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,689 in Siem Reap.

Cebu $1,900
Siem Reap $1,689

Living in Cebu is roughly 14% more expensive than in Siem Reap, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Siem Reap 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$2.43 ៛9,884

27.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$24.16 ៛98.1K

0.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.81 ៛31.7K

-49.81%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.69 ៛6,857

48.52%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.70 ៛2,854

127.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.43 ៛1,746

23.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.02 ៛4,148

74.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$1.98 ៛8,045

9.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.14 ៛8,687

-10.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.76 ៛7,159

-22.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.87 ៛3,540

16.09%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.72 ៛6,979

18.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$15.24 ៛61.9K

-35.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$2.84 ៛11.5K

54.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$10.20 ៛41.5K

-25.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$4.33 ៛17.6K

-23.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.23 ៛5,008

13.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$3.68 ៛14.9K

-36.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.09 ៛4,431

37.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.33 ៛5,415

77.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.12 ៛4,534

69.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.30 ៛5,262

-8.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.79 ៛3,227

-20.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.41 ៛5,709

112.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.75 ៛31.5K

-22.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.00 ៛4,051

23.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.26 ៛9,162

-22.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.97 ៛3,949

-74.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$15.14 ៛61.5K

-16.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$2.01 ៛8,169

-61.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.01 ៛4,103

-77.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$4.99 ៛20.3K

-10.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.31 ៛5,310

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$24.8K ៛100.7M

-14.30%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$22.7K ៛92.2M

-15.66%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$103 ៛417.4K

16.99%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$5.82 ៛23.6K

140.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$15.37 ៛62.4K

79.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$33.20 ៛134.8K

-2.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$14.27 ៛57.9K

-53.40%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$4.97 ៛20.2K

13.68%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$283 ៛1.2M

-2.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$4,488 ៛18.2M

76.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$26.69 ៛108.4K

84.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$13.31 ៛54.0K

89.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$68.5 ៛278.3K

12.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$45.31 ៛184.1K

26.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$329 ៛1.3M

51.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$232 ៛940.8K

33.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$669 ៛2.7M

61.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$434 ៛1.8M

41.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,454 ៛10.0M

17.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,099 ៛4.5M

74.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$239 ៛969.1K

45.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

9.2

-21.74%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Siem Reap: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Siem Reap

$232 28.7% 25% $77

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Siem Reap

$235 29.2% 14.2% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Siem Reap

$124 15.4% 23.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Siem Reap

$69 8.6% 26.3% $25

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Siem Reap

$77 9.5% 13% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Siem Reap

$43 5.4% 1.1% $0.5

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Siem Reap

$26 3.2% 67.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $329 in Siem Reap. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 45% 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 $24.00 in Siem Reap for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $235 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇭 Siem Reap

🕒 Local time

16:27 4:27 PM

15:27 3:27 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

171,800

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Siem Reap 2,210 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Siem Reap

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 Siem Reap: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Siem Reap is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 45% 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 $329 in Siem Reap. 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 $806 in Siem Reap – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Siem Reap runs roughly 20% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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

For families, Siem Reap 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 Siem Reap 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 Siem Reap gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.