Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Vijayawada

For one person, living is cheaper in Vijayawada: $393 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Vijayawada
Learn more

Vijayawada Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Vijayawada

🇮🇳 India

$393

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Vijayawada

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $393 in Vijayawada.

Cebu $934
Vijayawada $393

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $640 in Vijayawada.

Cebu $1,415
Vijayawada $640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $886 in Vijayawada.

Cebu $1,896
Vijayawada $886

Living in Cebu is roughly 137% more expensive than in Vijayawada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Vijayawada 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$1.53 ₹148

98.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$8.63 ₹835

172.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$4.40 ₹426

-7.05%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$3.67 ₹355

-31.34%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.38 ₹36.44

305.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.12 ₹11.67

308.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$1.82 ₹177

-1.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.24 ₹217

0.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$0.80 ₹77.9

143.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.49 ₹47.27

191.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$0.61 ₹59.4

67.21%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$0.80 ₹77.9

157.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$6.50 ₹629

50.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$2.44 ₹236

88.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.78 ₹172

85.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$0.72 ₹70.1

101.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.75 ₹72.5

214.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$0.43 ₹41.74

258.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.40 ₹39.09

490.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.45 ₹43.18

342.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.60 ₹58.4

91.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.30 ₹29.31

123.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$5.02 ₹486

-40.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$7.11 ₹688

-10.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.89 ₹183

-30.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$3.11 ₹301

-44.37%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$3.26 ₹315

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.29 ₹28.02

-13.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$6.82 ₹660

85.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$1.53 ₹148

-51.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.45 ₹43.86

-53.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$2.09 ₹202

107.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.11 ₹108

19.82%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$15.5K ₹1.5M

40.83%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$20.8K ₹2.0M

-6.53%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$31.73 ₹3,070

280.02%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$3.11 ₹301

364.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$7.74 ₹749

265.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$15.83 ₹1,532

106.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$10.85 ₹1,050

-41.11%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$3.06 ₹297

78.43%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$66.1 ₹6,397

313.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$1,931 ₹186.9K

322.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$17.87 ₹1,730

177.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$18.34 ₹1,775

35.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$38.00 ₹3,677

101.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$35.01 ₹3,388

69.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$127 ₹12.3K

298.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$78.1 ₹7,555

296.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$288 ₹27.8K

265.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$204 ₹19.8K

203.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$672 ₹65.0K

333.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$391 ₹37.9K

377.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$301 ₹29.1K

13.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

10.2

-29.41%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Vijayawada: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Vijayawada

$78 19.8% 74.8% $231

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Vijayawada

$107 27% 49.3% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Vijayawada

$43 10.8% 73.9% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Vijayawada

$49 12.4% 48.1% $45

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Vijayawada

$85 21.5% 3.7% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Vijayawada

$22 5.6% 49.6% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Vijayawada

$12 3% 23.8% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $127 in Vijayawada. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 13% 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 $9.00 in Vijayawada for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $107 per month, with Vijayawada cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇮🇳 Vijayawada

🕒 Local time

16:44 4:44 PM

14:14 2:14 PM

2 h 30 min behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

1,048,240

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Vijayawada 4,720 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Vijayawada

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 Vijayawada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vijayawada is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 137% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 13% 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: $506 in Cebu versus $127 in Vijayawada. 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 $393 in Vijayawada – a 137% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Vijayawada runs roughly 85% 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 Vijayawada gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Vijayawada 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 Vijayawada 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 Vijayawada gentler on the wallet – expenses run 137% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.