Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Welkom

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,057 in Welkom, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Welkom
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Welkom Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Welkom

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,057

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Welkom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,057 in Welkom.

Cebu $918
Welkom $1,057

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,595 in Welkom.

Cebu $1,409
Welkom $1,595

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,132 in Welkom.

Cebu $1,900
Welkom $2,132

Living in Cebu costs roughly 13% less than in Welkom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Welkom 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$9.03 R 149

-65.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$20.75 R 342

16.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.50 R 90.6

-28.73%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.30 R 37.92

9.13%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$0.50 R 8.20

218.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.63 R 10.32

-15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.19 R 19.67

49.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$1.52 R 25.05

42.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.05 R 17.35

82.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.06 R 17.42

28.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.42 R 23.35

-28.87%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$1.80 R 29.60

12.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$6.71 R 111

46.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$4.52 R 74.4

-2.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$4.82 R 79.5

57.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.52 R 25.12

117.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.68 R 27.69

-17.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.72 R 28.42

35.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.20 R 19.72

25.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.13 R 18.54

108.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.22 R 20.09

55.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.95 R 15.69

25.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$1.34 R 22.12

-52.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.48 R 40.92

20.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$2.44 R 40.23

147.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.53 R 25.18

-19.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.83 R 30.12

-4.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.44 R 23.72

-82.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.31 R 5.11

148.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.81 R 13.35

-71.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$14.49 R 239

-69.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.52 R 25.04

-13.82%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$35.3K R 581.8K

-39.84%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$34.5K R 568.2K

-44.48%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$151 R 2,491

-20.49%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$37.35 R 615

-62.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$36.39 R 600

-24.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$32.34 R 533

-0.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$9.53 R 157

-30.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$7.32 R 121

-22.81%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$265 R 4,368

3.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$5,448 R 89.8K

45.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$54.2 R 893

-8.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$31.69 R 522

-20.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$92.2 R 1,519

-16.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$82.6 R 1,361

-30.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$394 R 6,490

26.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$364 R 5,997

-15.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$729 R 12.0K

47.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$736 R 12.1K

-16.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$950 R 15.6K

203.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$754 R 12.4K

154.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.34

-36.51%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Welkom: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Welkom

$364 34.4% 17.9% $55

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Welkom

$164 15.5% 20.5% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Welkom

$225 21.3% 39.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Welkom

$117 11.1% 24.9% $23

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Welkom

$130 12.3% 47.1% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Welkom

$47 4.5% 7.7% $3.4

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Welkom

$10 * 1% 35% $5.5

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 $394 in Welkom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $21.00 in Welkom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $164 per month, with Welkom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇿🇦 Welkom

🕒 Local time

19:44 7:44 PM

13:44 1:44 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

64,130

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Welkom 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Welkom

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 Welkom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $1,585 in Welkom to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $500 in Cebu versus $394 in Welkom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Welkom pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,057 in Welkom – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Cebu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Welkom, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Welkom 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 15% less than in Welkom. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.