Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Tsukuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,104 in Tsukuba, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. The total is higher in Tsukuba despite lower rent and utilities.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Tsukuba
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Tsukuba Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Tsukuba

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,104

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Tsukuba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,104 in Tsukuba.

Cebu $918
Tsukuba $1,104

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,754 in Tsukuba.

Cebu $1,409
Tsukuba $1,754

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,404 in Tsukuba.

Cebu $1,900
Tsukuba $2,404

Living in Cebu costs roughly 17% less than in Tsukuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Tsukuba 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$6.48 ¥1,024

-52.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$33.35 ¥5,269

-27.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.01 ¥791

-21.76%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.74 ¥433

-8.39%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.03 ¥162

54.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.74 ¥118

-28.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.19 ¥347

-18.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.21 ¥506

-32.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.45 ¥229

32.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.67 ¥264

-18.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$3.09 ¥488

-67.31%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.09 ¥330

-2.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$10.21 ¥1,614

-3.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.03 ¥952

-27.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$14.35 ¥2,267

-47.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$5.83 ¥921

-43.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.82 ¥445

-50.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.80 ¥443

-16.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$4.12 ¥650

-63.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.63 ¥416

-10.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.56 ¥405

-25.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.85 ¥134

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.81 ¥128

-22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.76 ¥594

-20.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.16 ¥973

-2.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.80 ¥284

-31.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.11 ¥333

-17.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.45 ¥230

-82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$52.8 ¥8,337

-76.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$3.18 ¥502

-75.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$2.70 ¥426

-91.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$20.78 ¥3,282

-78.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.05 ¥166

24.76%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$21.6K ¥3.4M

-1.82%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$18.5K ¥2.9M

3.59%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$129 ¥20.4K

-7.12%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$24.48 ¥3,868

-42.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$32.65 ¥5,158

-15.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$53.6 ¥8,472

-39.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$12.38 ¥1,955

-54.36%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$94.2 ¥14.9K

192.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-46.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$46.72 ¥7,382

5.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$37.27 ¥5,888

-32.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$38.06 ¥6,013

102.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$41.11 ¥6,495

39.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$466 ¥73.6K

7.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$281 ¥44.4K

9.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,081 ¥170.7K

-0.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$629 ¥99.4K

-2.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$4,648 ¥734.4K

-37.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,980 ¥312.8K

-3.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,449 ¥228.8K

-76.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

260.00%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Tsukuba: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Tsukuba

$281 25.4% 9.1% $28

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Tsukuba

$285 25.8% 38.6% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Tsukuba

$187 16.9% 15.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Tsukuba

$73 6.7% 21.8% $21

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Tsukuba

$124 11.3% 40.8% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Tsukuba

$78 7.1% 79.7% $35

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Tsukuba

$75 6.8% 383% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $466 in Tsukuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tsukuba pays 319% 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 $33.00 in Tsukuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $285 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇯🇵 Tsukuba

🕒 Local time

00:41 12:41 AM

01:41 1:41 AM

1 h ahead of Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

230,398

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Tsukuba 3,300 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Tsukuba

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 Tsukuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 319% lower in Tsukuba. 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: $500 in Cebu versus $466 in Tsukuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,104 in Tsukuba – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 317% less than in Tsukuba. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,104 in Tsukuba, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Tsukuba. 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 Tsukuba, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Tsukuba 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 20% less than in Tsukuba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.