Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Taraz

For one person, living is cheaper in Taraz: $625 a month against $943 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Taraz
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Taraz Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$943

/mo nomad

Taraz

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Taraz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $943 in Cebu versus $625 in Taraz.

Cebu $943
Taraz $625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,437 in Cebu versus $1,000 in Taraz.

Cebu $1,437
Taraz $1,000

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,930 in Cebu versus $1,374 in Taraz.

Cebu $1,930
Taraz $1,374

Living in Cebu is roughly 51% more expensive than in Taraz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Taraz 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 ₱244

$8.87 ₸3,997

-56.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.22 ₱1,462

$22.34 ₸10.1K

3.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 ₱246

$6.51 ₸2,934

-40.09%

Cappuccino

$2.56 ₱161

$1.58 ₸711

62.03%

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

$1.60 ₱101

$0.84 ₸380

90.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₱32.02

$0.43 ₸193

18.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 ₱111

$1.13 ₸507

55.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ₱136

$1.80 ₸812

19.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.14 ₸512

74.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.3

$0.44 ₸196

211.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ₱59.8

$1.34 ₸604

-29.10%

Eggs

$2.02 ₱127

$1.65 ₸743

22.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 ₱606

$10.03 ₸4,519

-3.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 ₱274

$5.29 ₸2,383

-17.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱485

$8.62 ₸3,881

-10.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱207

$1.21 ₸546

172.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ₱79.7

$2.12 ₸954

-40.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$2.55 ₸1,148

-8.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 ₱95.3

$1.35 ₸610

11.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 ₱141

$0.51 ₸228

337.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 ₱122

$0.41 ₸184

370.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ₱74.4

$0.91 ₸408

29.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 ₱40.92

$0.81 ₸365

-19.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 ₱182

$2.48 ₸1,118

16.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱400

$4.37 ₸1,968

45.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱80.0

$1.03 ₸464

23.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 ₱103

$1.57 ₸706

4.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.42

$0.20 ₸89.0

15.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.24 ₱770

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.5

$0.84 ₸380

-2.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.56

$0.37 ₸167

-45.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.32 ₱272

$3.92 ₸1,764

10.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 ₱86.7

$0.68 ₸308

102.94%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$28.1K ₸12.7M

-24.54%

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

$19.3K ₱1.2M

$27.4K ₸12.3M

-29.58%

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

$124 ₱7,814

$46.45 ₸20.9K

167.26%

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

$15.93 ₱1,003

$8.77 ₸3,949

81.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 ₱1,767

$8.66 ₸3,901

224.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.41 ₱2,103

$36.64 ₸16.5K

-8.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.40 ₱403

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ₱368

$4.31 ₸1,943

35.73%

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

$271 ₱17.0K

$57.2 ₸25.7K

373.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,060 ₱507.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.31 ₱3,041

$26.06 ₸11.7K

85.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.56 ₱1,546

$33.42 ₸15.1K

-26.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 ₱4,855

$108 ₸48.8K

-28.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.5 ₱3,557

$51.9 ₸23.4K

8.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$495 ₱31.2K

$261 ₸117.5K

89.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 ₱20.2K

$111 ₸50.2K

188.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$990 ₱62.3K

$449 ₸202.4K

120.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$628 ₱39.5K

$201 ₸90.6K

212.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,459 ₱280.6K

$843 ₸379.8K

428.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,030 ₱190.7K

$600 ₸270.3K

404.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$343 ₱21.6K

$271 ₸122.2K

26.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

17.83

-59.62%

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

Last update for Cebu: November 2, 2026

Last update for Taraz: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$322 34.1%

Taraz

$111 17.8% 65.4% $210

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 21.8%

Taraz

$179 28.6% 13.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$168 17.8%

Taraz

$64 10.2% 62% $104

Eating Out

Cebu

$95 10.1%

Taraz

$124 19.8% 30.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$93 9.9%

Taraz

$99 15.8% 6.4% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$45 4.8%

Taraz

$45 7.2% 0.4% $0.2

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.6%

Taraz

$3.5 * 0.6% 76.7% $11

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 $495 in Cebu and $261 in Taraz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 26% 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 in Cebu vs $22 in Taraz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $179 per month, with Taraz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇰🇿 Taraz

🕒 Local time

02:49 2:49 AM

23:49 11:49 PM

3 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

431,160

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 62.95 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.73 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 450 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Taraz 6,220 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Taraz

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 Taraz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taraz is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 26% 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: $495 in Cebu versus $261 in Taraz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $943 per month in Cebu versus $625 in Taraz – Taraz is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $625 in Taraz versus $943 in Cebu, a $800 budget is realistic in Taraz but tight or insufficient in Cebu. The gap between the two cities makes Taraz the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Taraz are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Taraz wins on affordability, Cebu on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.