Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Sitrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Sitrah: $813 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Sitrah
Learn more

Sitrah Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Sitrah

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Sitrah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $813 in Sitrah.

Cebu $918
Sitrah $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,288 in Sitrah.

Cebu $1,409
Sitrah $1,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,764 in Sitrah.

Cebu $1,900
Sitrah $1,764

Living in Cebu is roughly 13% more expensive than in Sitrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$5.22 BHD 1.97

-40.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$52.2 BHD 19.70

-53.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.24 BHD 2.73

-45.86%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$4.85 BHD 1.83

-48.25%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.89 BHD 0.33

78.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.33 BHD 0.12

60.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.50 BHD 2.45

-72.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$10.01 BHD 3.78

-78.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.43 BHD 0.54

34.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.06 BHD 0.40

28.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.27 BHD 0.86

-55.51%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.28 BHD 0.86

-10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$8.40 BHD 3.17

17.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.55 BHD 2.47

-32.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.77 BHD 3.31

-13.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$2.40 BHD 0.90

37.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.31 BHD 0.87

-39.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.95 BHD 0.74

19.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.45 BHD 0.55

3.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.01 BHD 0.38

133.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.41 BHD 0.53

34.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.50 BHD 0.57

-20.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.78 BHD 0.29

-19.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.22 BHD 1.97

-42.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$18.66 BHD 7.04

-67.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.49 BHD 1.32

-64.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.66 BHD 1.00

-34.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$5.26 BHD 1.98

-85.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$3.39 BHD 1.28

-93.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$15.86 BHD 5.99

-71.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.68 BHD 0.26

92.65%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$37.0K BHD 14.0K

-42.55%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$20.5K BHD 7,736

-6.60%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$153 BHD 57.8

-21.53%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$24.81 BHD 9.36

-43.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$34.46 BHD 13.01

-20.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$10.73 BHD 4.05

-47.34%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$483 BHD 182

-43.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$10.9K BHD 4,101

-27.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$51.8 BHD 19.56

-4.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$56.5 BHD 21.32

-55.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$88.3 BHD 33.33

-12.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$88.6 BHD 33.44

-35.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,052 BHD 397

-67.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.21

15.94%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sitrah: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Sitrah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Sitrah

$250 30.7% 21.2% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Sitrah

$212 26.1% 31.3% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Sitrah

$128 15.8% 36.7% $34

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Sitrah

$179 22% 103% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Sitrah

$21 * 2.6% 50.8% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Sitrah

$22 * 2.7% 42.7% $6.6

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Sitrah pays 204% 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 $52.0 in Sitrah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $250 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇭 Sitrah

🕒 Local time

08:21 8:21 AM

03:21 3:21 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

81,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, 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).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.424 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Sitrah 7,840 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Sitrah

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 Sitrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sitrah is cheaper overall, especially in leisure. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 204% lower in Sitrah. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Shoppers in Cebu pay roughly 21% 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 $813 in Sitrah – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Sitrah 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 Sitrah 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 Sitrah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.