Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Yens

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $3,329 in Yens, rent and utilities included – about $28,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
162

Cost of Living Index in Yens
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Yens Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Yens

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,329

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Yens

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $3,329 in Yens.

Cebu $918
Yens $3,329

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $5,100 in Yens.

Cebu $1,409
Yens $5,100

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $6,872 in Yens.

Cebu $1,900
Yens $6,872

Living in Cebu costs roughly 72% less than in Yens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Yens is 147% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$29.34 CHF 24.16

-89.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$119 CHF 98.0

-79.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$15.95 CHF 13.14

-75.42%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$6.00 CHF 4.94

-58.17%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$4.95 CHF 4.08

-67.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$4.27 CHF 3.51

-87.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$9.07 CHF 7.47

-80.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$7.69 CHF 6.34

-71.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-9.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$2.99 CHF 2.46

-54.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$3.18 CHF 2.62

-68.24%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$7.17 CHF 5.91

-71.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$23.95 CHF 19.73

-58.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$28.06 CHF 23.11

-84.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$39.38 CHF 32.44

-80.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.63 CHF 2.99

-9.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.95 CHF 1.61

-28.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.52 CHF 2.08

-7.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$4.43 CHF 3.65

-66.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.62 CHF 1.34

45.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.94 CHF 1.60

-2.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.98 CHF 1.63

-39.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$1.27 CHF 1.05

-50.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$10.70 CHF 8.81

-71.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$11.98 CHF 9.87

-49.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.24 CHF 1.85

-45.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.86 CHF 2.36

-38.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$4.58 CHF 3.77

-94.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$98.4 CHF 81.0

-87.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$7.70 CHF 6.34

-90.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$4.56 CHF 3.75

-94.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$84.2 CHF 69.3

-94.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.36 CHF 1.94

-44.49%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$41.9K CHF 34.5K

-49.29%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$39.7K CHF 32.7K

-51.77%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$274 CHF 225

-56.07%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$27.35 CHF 22.52

-48.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$51.4 CHF 42.31

-46.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$89.6 CHF 73.8

-63.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$45.51 CHF 37.48

-85.39%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$24.00 CHF 19.76

-76.46%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$2,954 CHF 2,433

-90.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$30.3K CHF 25.0K

-73.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$141 CHF 116

-64.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$61.4 CHF 50.6

-58.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$138 CHF 114

-44.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$197 CHF 162

-71.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,679 CHF 1,383

-70.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$1,440 CHF 1,186

-78.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$2,839 CHF 2,338

-62.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$2,494 CHF 2,054

-75.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$16.2K CHF 13.3K

-82.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$12.0K CHF 9,900

-84.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

1.95

269.23%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Yens: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Yens

$1.4K 43.3% 366% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Yens

$558 16.8% 171% $352

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Yens

$352 10.6% 118% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Yens

$242 7.3% 157% $148

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Yens

$452 13.6% 412% $364

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Yens

$138 4.1% 215% $94

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Yens

$147 4.4% 845% $132

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $1,679 in Yens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $119 in Yens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $558 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇨🇭 Yens

🕒 Local time

14:11 2:11 PM

08:11 8:11 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

2,200

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Cebu Yens 11,180 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Yens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 263% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $4,993 in Yens 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 $1,679 in Yens. 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 $3,329 in Yens – a 263% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 678% less than in Yens. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $3,329 in Yens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Yens. 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 Yens, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Yens 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 263% less than in Yens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.