Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and St. Gallen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $3,632 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $32,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
178

Cost of Living Index in St. Gallen
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St. Gallen Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,632

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in St. Gallen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $3,632 in St. Gallen.

Cebu $934
St. Gallen $3,632

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $5,284 in St. Gallen.

Cebu $1,415
St. Gallen $5,284

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $6,937 in St. Gallen.

Cebu $1,896
St. Gallen $6,937

Living in Cebu costs roughly 74% less than in St. Gallen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 30% below, St. Gallen is 171% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$29.41 CHF 24.41

-89.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$145 CHF 121

-83.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$17.82 CHF 14.79

-77.05%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$5.99 CHF 4.97

-57.93%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$5.81 CHF 4.83

-73.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$5.33 CHF 4.42

-90.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$9.23 CHF 7.66

-80.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$6.17 CHF 5.12

-63.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$2.23 CHF 1.85

-12.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$3.18 CHF 2.64

-55.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$3.68 CHF 3.06

-72.28%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$7.68 CHF 6.37

-73.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$25.41 CHF 21.09

-61.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$28.97 CHF 24.05

-84.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$38.85 CHF 32.25

-80.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$3.16 CHF 2.62

4.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.61 CHF 1.33

-9.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.31 CHF 1.92

2.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$6.01 CHF 4.99

-74.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.70 CHF 1.41

38.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$2.16 CHF 1.80

-7.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$2.16 CHF 1.79

-46.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$1.18 CHF 0.98

-43.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$10.65 CHF 8.84

-71.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$11.32 CHF 9.39

-43.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$2.18 CHF 1.81

-39.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$2.31 CHF 1.92

-25.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$4.17 CHF 3.46

-94.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$128 CHF 106

-90.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$6.64 CHF 5.51

-88.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$4.79 CHF 3.98

-95.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$77.3 CHF 64.2

-94.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$2.22 CHF 1.84

-40.09%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$35.3K CHF 29.3K

-38.38%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$39.5K CHF 32.7K

-50.84%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$305 CHF 253

-60.47%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$38.46 CHF 31.92

-62.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$54.2 CHF 44.95

-47.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$80.7 CHF 67.0

-59.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$30.32 CHF 25.16

-81.99%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$2,308 CHF 1,915

-88.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$31.8K CHF 26.4K

-74.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$146 CHF 122

-66.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$64.6 CHF 53.7

-61.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$147 CHF 122

-47.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$179 CHF 148

-66.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$1,734 CHF 1,439

-70.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$1,698 CHF 1,410

-81.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$2,854 CHF 2,369

-63.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$2,153 CHF 1,787

-71.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$12.1K CHF 10.0K

-75.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$9,070 CHF 7,528

-79.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$6,528 CHF 5,418

-94.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

2.1

242.86%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for St. Gallen: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

St. Gallen

$1.7K 46% 449% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

St. Gallen

$572 15.5% 172% $362

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

St. Gallen

$398 10.8% 144% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

St. Gallen

$242 6.6% 155% $147

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

St. Gallen

$464 12.6% 425% $375

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

St. Gallen

$141 3.8% 224% $98

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

St. Gallen

$176 4.8% 1037% $160

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $1,734 in St. Gallen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Gallen pays 1814% 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: $23.00 in Cebu vs $145 in St. Gallen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $572 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🕒 Local time

13:45 1:45 PM

07:45 7:45 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

78,213

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 CHF = 1.2 USD

1 CHF = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.931 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu St. Gallen 10,930 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
St. Gallen

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 St. Gallen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 289% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1814% lower in St. Gallen. 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: $506 in Cebu versus $1,734 in St. Gallen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $3,632 in St. Gallen – a 289% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 914% less than in St. Gallen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $3,632 in St. Gallen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in St. Gallen. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in St. Gallen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and St. Gallen 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 Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 289% less than in St. Gallen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.