Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Zanzibar

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $577 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
Learn more

Zanzibar Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$577

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Zanzibar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $577 in Zanzibar.

Cebu $934
Zanzibar $577

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $857 in Zanzibar.

Cebu $1,415
Zanzibar $857

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,137 in Zanzibar.

Cebu $1,896
Zanzibar $1,137

Living in Cebu is roughly 62% more expensive than in Zanzibar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Zanzibar 57% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$4.78 TZS 12.5K

-36.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$21.74 TZS 57.0K

8.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$5.54 TZS 14.5K

-26.17%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.21 TZS 5,810

14.03%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$0.60 TZS 1,568

156.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.33 TZS 874

48.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$1.91 TZS 4,999

-6.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.72 TZS 7,135

-16.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$2.04 TZS 5,357

-4.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.72 TZS 1,902

98.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$0.83 TZS 2,185

22.89%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.68 TZS 7,044

-23.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$7.54 TZS 19.8K

30.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$2.21 TZS 5,803

108.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$6.12 TZS 16.1K

25.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$2.86 TZS 7,493

15.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.11 TZS 2,918

30.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.75 TZS 1,967

214.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$0.59 TZS 1,556

161.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.98 TZS 2,581

140.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.48 TZS 3,871

34.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.75 TZS 1,960

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.49 TZS 1,283

36.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$2.06 TZS 5,403

45.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$9.28 TZS 24.4K

-31.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.54 TZS 4,043

-14.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.31 TZS 3,428

32.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.31 TZS 817

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$3.70 TZS 9,701

-80.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.79 TZS 2,073

-73.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$2.62 TZS 6,862

65.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.27 TZS 3,339

4.72%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$48.8K TZS 128.0M

-60.25%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$73.3 TZS 192.4K

64.46%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$11.35 TZS 29.8K

27.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$49.97 TZS 131.1K

-43.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$29.66 TZS 77.8K

10.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$9.71 TZS 25.5K

-43.77%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$12.93 TZS 33.9K

283.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$17.28 TZS 45.3K

43.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$15.25 TZS 40.0K

402.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$13.08 TZS 34.3K

353.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$149 TZS 389.9K

240.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$99.0 TZS 259.8K

212.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$201 TZS 528.4K

422.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$150 TZS 393.4K

312.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$37.6K TZS 98.6M

-92.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

-83.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$313 TZS 820.4K

9.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-28.00%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Zanzibar: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Zanzibar

$99 17% 68% $210

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Zanzibar

$164 28.2% 21.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Zanzibar

$135 23.1% 17.6% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Zanzibar

$26 4.5% 72.2% $68

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Zanzibar

$100 17.2% 13.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Zanzibar

$49 8.4% 12.5% $5.5

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Zanzibar

$8.9 * 1.5% 42.4% $6.5

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 $506 in Cebu and $149 in Zanzibar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 9% 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 $22.00 in Zanzibar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $164 per month, with Zanzibar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

11:22 11:22 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

709,809

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, 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).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,943 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Zanzibar 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Zanzibar

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 Zanzibar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zanzibar is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 62% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 9% 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 $149 in Zanzibar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Zanzibar – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $23.00 in Cebu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

For families, Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.