Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Vung Tau

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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 Vung Tau
Learn more

Vung Tau Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Vung Tau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $608 in Vung Tau.

Cebu $918
Vung Tau $608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,015 in Vung Tau.

Cebu $1,409
Vung Tau $1,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,423 in Vung Tau.

Cebu $1,900
Vung Tau $1,423

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Vung Tau 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱195

$1.95 ₫50.5K

58.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$15.66 ₫405.5K

54.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$3.75 ₫97.0K

4.53%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.84 ₫47.6K

36.41%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.41 ₫10.6K

287.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.45

$0.33 ₫8,662

60.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$0.78 ₫20.2K

128.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$1.01 ₫26.3K

114.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.40 ₫36.3K

37.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.5

$1.11 ₫28.7K

22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.6

$0.89 ₫23.1K

13.48%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.65 ₫42.8K

23.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$4.79 ₫124.0K

105.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$3.60 ₫93.1K

21.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.44 ₫244.4K

-19.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.06 ₫79.3K

7.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.24 ₫32.1K

12.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$0.63 ₫16.3K

269.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.29 ₫33.5K

16.28%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.15 ₫29.8K

105.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.19 ₫30.8K

59.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.60 ₫15.7K

98.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.73

$0.43 ₫11.0K

46.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$1.20 ₫31.1K

150.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱380

$12.74 ₫329.7K

-52.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.81 ₫21.1K

51.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.01 ₫26.2K

73.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.64

$0.70 ₫18.1K

10.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.54

$0.59 ₫15.3K

-61.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$1.15 ₫29.7K

287.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$0.80 ₫20.7K

63.75%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.2K ₫782.2M

-29.69%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$31.4K ₫811.9M

-38.95%

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

$120 ₱7,573

$46.69 ₫1.2M

157.51%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$5.90 ₫152.7K

137.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,735

$7.99 ₫206.9K

244.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

$17.04 ₫441.1K

89.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$9.41 ₫243.6K

-29.33%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$3.54 ₫91.6K

59.60%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$117 ₫3.0M

135.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.8K

$9,586 ₫248.2M

-17.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,107

$21.13 ₫547.1K

133.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,590

$18.89 ₫489.1K

33.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,848

$92.2 ₫2.4M

-16.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,603

$67.9 ₫1.8M

-15.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$304 ₫7.9M

64.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$199 ₫5.2M

55.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$752 ₫19.5M

43.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

$504 ₫13.0M

22.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

$7,301 ₫189.0M

-60.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$4,367 ₫113.1M

-56.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$572 ₫14.8M

-39.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

8.64

-16.67%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Vung Tau

$199 32.7% 35.6% $110

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Vung Tau

$173 28.4% 16.2% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Vung Tau

$61 10% 62.6% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Vung Tau

$90 14.8% 4.1% $3.9

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Vung Tau

$58 9.5% 34.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Vung Tau

$24 4% 44.7% $19

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6% 76.5% $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 $500 in Cebu and $304 in Vung Tau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vung Tau pays 65% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $16.00 in Vung Tau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $173 per month, with Vung Tau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🕒 Local time

20:49 8:49 PM

19:49 7:49 PM

1 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

380,000

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Vung Tau 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Vung Tau

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 Vung Tau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vung Tau is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Vung Tau. 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 $304 in Vung Tau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $608 in Vung Tau – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.