Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Zliten

For one person, living is cheaper in Zliten: $359 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cebu
🇵🇭 Philippines
$918
/mo nomad
Zliten
🇱🇾 Libya
$359
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Zliten

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $359 in Zliten.

  • Cebu $918
  • Zliten $359

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $547 in Zliten.

  • Cebu $1,409
  • Zliten $547

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $735 in Zliten.

  • Cebu $1,900
  • Zliten $735

Living in Cebu is roughly 155% more expensive than in Zliten, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Zliten 73% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.09 ₱194
$3.91 LYD 25.04
-20.97%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$24.22 ₱1,525
$12.48 LYD 80.0
94.07%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.92 ₱247
$2.66 LYD 17.02
47.37%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$0.48 LYD 3.09
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.73 LYD 4.71
-
Cappuccino
$2.51 ₱158
$0.40 LYD 2.59
527.50%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.59 ₱100
$0.38 LYD 2.42
318.42%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.53 ₱33.43
$0.10 LYD 0.64
430.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.78 ₱112
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.17 ₱137
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.92 ₱121
$0.79 LYD 5.07
143.04%
White Bread (500g)
$1.36 ₱85.4
$0.22 LYD 1.41
518.18%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.01 ₱63.5
$0.75 LYD 4.79
34.67%
Eggs
$2.03 ₱128
$1.13 LYD 7.26
79.65%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.86 ₱621
$5.27 LYD 33.77
87.10%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.39 ₱277
$2.77 LYD 17.77
58.48%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.60 ₱479
$8.77 LYD 56.2
-13.34%
Apples (1kg)
$3.30 ₱208
$2.24 LYD 14.37
47.32%
Banana (1kg)
$1.39 ₱87.8
$1.47 LYD 9.42
-5.44%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.33 ₱147
$0.72 LYD 4.62
223.61%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.50 ₱94.3
$0.56 LYD 3.61
167.86%
Potato (1kg)
$2.36 ₱149
$0.71 LYD 4.56
232.39%
Onion (1kg)
$1.90 ₱119
$0.49 LYD 3.12
287.76%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 ₱74.9
$0.43 LYD 2.73
176.74%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.63 ₱39.71
$0.19 LYD 1.23
231.58%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.75 LYD 11.22
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.01 LYD 6.44
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.77 LYD 4.93
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.00 ₱189
$1.89 LYD 12.12
58.73%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.03 ₱379
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.23 ₱77.7
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 ₱110
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.25 ₱15.86
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$12.64 ₱796
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.77 ₱48.62
$0.81 LYD 5.21
-4.94%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.23 ₱14.53
$0.49 LYD 3.12
-53.06%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.46 ₱281
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.31 ₱82.8
$0.02 LYD 0.14
6450.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K ₱1.3M
$22.9K LYD 146.9K
-7.36%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.1K ₱1.2M
$21.2K LYD 135.7K
-9.56%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$120 ₱7,569
$94.0 LYD 602
27.90%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$14.00 ₱882
$6.00 LYD 38.47
133.33%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.54 ₱1,734
$26.52 LYD 170
3.85%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$32.33 ₱2,035
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.65 ₱419
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.65 ₱356
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$275 ₱17.3K
$53.2 LYD 341
417.79%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,918 ₱498.5K
$1,557 LYD 9,975
408.68%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$49.33 ₱3,106
$22.45 LYD 144
119.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$25.24 ₱1,589
$17.20 LYD 110
46.74%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.0 ₱4,846
$64.4 LYD 413
19.50%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$57.2 ₱3,601
$67.3 LYD 431
-14.97%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$500 ₱31.5K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$309 ₱19.4K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,078 ₱67.9K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$615 ₱38.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,886 ₱181.7K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,917 ₱120.7K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cebu
Zliten
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$346 ₱21.8K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.2
0
-

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zliten: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cebu
$309
Zliten
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Cebu
$206
Zliten
$106 48.3% $99
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cebu
$162
Zliten
$127 21.8% $35
Clothing & Footwear
Cebu
$94
Zliten
$77 17.9% $17
Eating Out
Cebu
$88
Zliten
$46 47.9% $42
Sport & Entertainment
Cebu
$44
Zliten
- * 100%
Getting Around
Cebu
$16
Zliten
$3.3 * 79.1% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $12.00 in Zliten for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $106 per month, with Zliten cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇭 Cebu
🇱🇾 Zliten
🕒 Local time
03:26 3:26 AM
21:26 9:26 PM
6 h behind Cebu
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
964,169
240,000
💱 Currency
Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د
Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

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).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cebu Zliten 11,150 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cebu
  • Zliten

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 Zliten: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zliten cheaper than Cebu?
Zliten is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 155% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $539 in Zliten 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.
How do food prices compare in Cebu and in Zliten?
Supermarket bills run roughly 93% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Cebu and in Zliten?
All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $359 in Zliten – a 155% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $1,200 enough for either Cebu or Zliten?
Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Zliten gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
Is Cebu or Zliten more family-friendly?
For families, Zliten 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.
Which city is safer, Cebu or Zliten?
Safety-wise, Cebu and Zliten are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Zliten gentler on the wallet – expenses run 155% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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