Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Tanjung Pinang

For one person, living is cheaper in Tanjung Pinang: $639 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Tanjung Pinang
Learn more

Tanjung Pinang Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Tanjung Pinang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Tanjung Pinang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $639 in Tanjung Pinang.

Cebu $915
Tanjung Pinang $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $987 in Tanjung Pinang.

Cebu $1,418
Tanjung Pinang $987

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $1,335 in Tanjung Pinang.

Cebu $1,921
Tanjung Pinang $1,335

Living in Cebu is roughly 43% more expensive than in Tanjung Pinang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Tanjung Pinang 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$3.42 Rp 61.5K

-10.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$13.81 Rp 248.6K

73.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$3.52 Rp 63.3K

13.35%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$1.65 Rp 29.7K

51.52%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$0.40 Rp 7,163

285.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$0.25 Rp 4,530

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.42 Rp 43.6K

-26.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$3.39 Rp 61.1K

-35.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

70.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.09 Rp 19.6K

25.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

24.10%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

42.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$7.56 Rp 136.0K

34.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$2.83 Rp 51.0K

57.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$7.40 Rp 133.1K

3.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$2.05 Rp 36.8K

61.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

17.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$1.86 Rp 33.5K

24.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$1.28 Rp 23.1K

16.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$1.16 Rp 20.9K

101.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.78 Rp 32.0K

8.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

52.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.40 Rp 7,277

70.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$2.68 Rp 48.3K

11.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$20.87 Rp 375.7K

-70.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

-30.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$3.36 Rp 60.6K

-48.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$0.28 Rp 5,028

-17.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$0.54 Rp 9,797

46.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.37 Rp 6,649

-40.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$2.74 Rp 49.2K

65.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$0.63 Rp 11.4K

109.52%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$25.1K Rp 451.9M

-16.33%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$35.7K Rp 642.7M

-45.65%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$65.9 Rp 1.2M

79.81%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$4.46 Rp 80.3K

218.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$19.46 Rp 350.3K

41.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$19.32 Rp 347.8K

67.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

$7.96 Rp 143.3K

-18.34%

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

100.00%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$91.3 Rp 1.6M

202.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$7,140 Rp 128.5M

10.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$45.61 Rp 821.0K

8.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$26.21 Rp 471.7K

-6.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$77.2 Rp 1.4M

-0.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$64.2 Rp 1.2M

-8.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$252 Rp 4.5M

99.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$152 Rp 2.7M

100.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$576 Rp 10.4M

86.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$314 Rp 5.6M

101.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$1,270 Rp 22.9M

125.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$901 Rp 16.2M

108.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

$198 Rp 3.6M

69.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

9.46

-23.89%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tanjung Pinang: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$152 23.7% 50.1% $153

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Tanjung Pinang

$194 30.4% 7.3% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Tanjung Pinang

$90 14.1% 43.9% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Tanjung Pinang

$96 15% 1.8% $1.7

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Tanjung Pinang

$79 12.4% 9.7% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Tanjung Pinang

$25 3.9% 42.6% $18

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Tanjung Pinang

$3.5 * 0.6% 76.8% $12

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 $503 in Cebu and $252 in Tanjung Pinang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 69% 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 $14.00 in Tanjung Pinang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $194 per month, with Tanjung Pinang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇩 Tanjung Pinang

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

07:14 7:14 AM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

239,854

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Tanjung Pinang 2,390 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Tanjung Pinang

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 Tanjung Pinang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tanjung Pinang is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 43% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 69% 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: $503 in Cebu versus $252 in Tanjung Pinang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $639 in Tanjung Pinang – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Tanjung Pinang 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 Tanjung Pinang 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 Tanjung Pinang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.