Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Surat Thani

For one person, living is cheaper in Surat Thani: $775 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Surat Thani
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Surat Thani Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Surat Thani

🇹🇭 Thailand

$775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Surat Thani

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $775 in Surat Thani.

Cebu $915
Surat Thani $775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $1,414 in Surat Thani.

Cebu $1,418
Surat Thani $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $2,053 in Surat Thani.

Cebu $1,921
Surat Thani $2,053

Living in Cebu is roughly 18% more expensive than in Surat Thani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Surat Thani 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$1.89 ฿63.0

61.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$17.87 ฿597

34.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$4.51 ฿151

-11.53%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$1.50 ฿50.2

66.67%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$0.50 ฿16.68

208.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$0.29 ฿9.66

72.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.56 ฿85.4

-30.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$3.69 ฿123

-41.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.66 ฿55.4

20.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.19 ฿39.89

15.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$1.17 ฿39.13

-11.97%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.87 ฿62.4

8.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$19.18 ฿641

-46.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$3.33 ฿111

33.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$7.44 ฿249

3.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$2.91 ฿97.2

13.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.68 ฿56.3

-13.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$1.76 ฿58.7

31.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$2.05 ฿68.4

-27.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$1.30 ฿43.57

80.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.37 ฿45.90

41.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$1.11 ฿37.24

4.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.41 ฿13.66

65.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$3.07 ฿103

-2.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$18.86 ฿630

-66.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$1.54 ฿51.6

-20.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.82 ฿60.7

-4.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$1.02 ฿34.00

-77.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$20.95 ฿700

-41.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$1.18 ฿39.50

-33.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.63 ฿21.05

-65.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$3.49 ฿117

30.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.16 ฿38.93

13.79%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$26.6K ฿890.1K

-21.13%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$27.3K ฿911.7K

-28.87%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$72.9 ฿2,437

62.58%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$11.12 ฿372

27.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$17.32 ฿579

58.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$48.24 ฿1,612

-33.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

$11.52 ฿385

-43.58%

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$4.53 ฿151

19.21%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$549 ฿18.3K

-49.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$11.6K ฿386.5K

-31.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$61.9 ฿2,070

-20.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$29.16 ฿974

-15.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$97.3 ฿3,252

-21.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$86.5 ฿2,892

-31.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$237 ฿7,910

112.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$149 ฿4,985

104.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$1,150 ฿38.4K

-6.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$709 ฿23.7K

-10.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$2,226 ฿74.4K

28.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$1,404 ฿46.9K

33.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.57

29.26%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Surat Thani: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Surat Thani

$149 19.3% 51% $155

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Surat Thani

$244 31.5% 16.5% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Surat Thani

$101 13.1% 36.7% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Surat Thani

$124 16% 31.3% $29

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Surat Thani

$70 9% 20.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Surat Thani

$57 7.4% 32.9% $14

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Surat Thani

$29 3.8% 93.7% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $237 in Surat Thani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $18.00 in Surat Thani. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $244, with Cebu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇭 Surat Thani

🕒 Local time

01:40 1:40 AM

00:40 12:40 AM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

132,040

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Surat Thani 2,700 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Surat Thani

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 Surat Thani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surat Thani is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. The 18% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,372 in Cebu and $1,163 in Surat Thani to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $503 in Cebu versus $237 in Surat Thani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $775 in Surat Thani – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Surat Thani runs roughly 70% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Surat Thani gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.