Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colchester and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,298 in Colchester, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Colchester
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Colchester Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Colchester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,298

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colchester and in Cebu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Colchester and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,298 in Colchester versus $918 in Cebu.

Colchester $2,298
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,409 in Colchester versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Colchester $3,409
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,521 in Colchester versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Colchester $4,521
Cebu $1,900

Living in Colchester is roughly 150% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Colchester is 70% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.69 £15.52

$3.09 ₱194

569.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.0 £69.1

$24.22 ₱1,525

280.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.61 £7.96

$3.92 ₱247

170.66%

Cappuccino

$5.41 £4.06

$2.51 ₱158

115.54%

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

$2.72 £2.04

$1.59 ₱100

71.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.33

$0.53 ₱33.43

233.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.07 £5.30

$1.78 ₱112

297.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 £5.22

$2.17 ₱137

220.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.92 ₱121

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.36 ₱85.4

2.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.01 ₱63.5

66.34%

Eggs

$2.98 £2.23

$2.03 ₱128

46.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.21 £6.91

$9.86 ₱621

-6.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.58 £5.69

$4.39 ₱277

72.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 £10.86

$7.60 ₱479

90.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 £2.37

$3.30 ₱208

-4.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.39 ₱87.8

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 £2.10

$2.33 ₱147

19.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.50 ₱94.3

118.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.19

$2.36 ₱149

-32.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.90 ₱119

-23.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.19 ₱74.9

41.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.63 ₱39.71

122.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.30 £17.48

$3.00 ₱189

676.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 £8.05

$6.03 ₱379

77.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.23 ₱77.7

124.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 £2.64

$1.75 ₱110

100.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.72 £2.79

$0.25 ₱15.86

1388.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 £75.6

$12.64 ₱796

696.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 £4.33

$0.77 ₱48.62

649.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 £1.01

$0.23 ₱14.53

486.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.93 £15.70

$4.46 ₱281

369.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.31 ₱82.8

55.73%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

79.45%

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

$39.7K £29.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

107.57%

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

$252 £189

$120 ₱7,569

109.22%

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

$24.86 £18.65

$14.00 ₱882

77.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.54 £31.16

$27.54 ₱1,734

50.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.8 £50.8

$32.33 ₱2,035

109.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.75 £8.07

$6.65 ₱419

61.65%

Cinema Ticket

$21.25 £15.94

$5.65 ₱356

276.11%

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

$1,061 £796

$275 ₱17.3K

285.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.1K £15.1K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

153.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 £53.1

$49.33 ₱3,106

43.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.15 £23.37

$25.24 ₱1,589

23.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 £58.6

$77.0 ₱4,846

1.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.87 £37.41

$57.2 ₱3,601

-12.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,256 £943

$500 ₱31.5K

151.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,027 £771

$309 ₱19.4K

232.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,855 £1,392

$1,078 ₱67.9K

72.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,684 £1,263

$615 ₱38.7K

173.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,983 £3,739

$2,886 ₱181.7K

72.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,357 £2,519

$1,917 ₱120.7K

75.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,499 £2,625

$346 ₱21.8K

911.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

7.2

-31.81%

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

Last update for Colchester: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colchester

$1K 44.7%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 69.9% $719

Eating Out

Colchester

$330 14.3%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 73.2% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colchester

$318 13.8%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 49.1% $156

Groceries & Markets

Colchester

$281 12.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 26.7% $75

Getting Around

Colchester

$128 5.6%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 87.8% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Colchester

$110 4.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 60.4% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Colchester

$103 4.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 9.2% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,256 in Colchester and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Colchester pays 911% 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: $92.0 in Colchester vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $281 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Colchester

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

13:22 1:22 PM

7 h ahead of Colchester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

190,098

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colchester Cebu 11,230 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Colchester
Cebu

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

Colchester vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 150% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 911% higher in Colchester, 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: $1,256 in Colchester versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,298 per month in Colchester versus $918 in Cebu – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 697% less than in Colchester. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,298 in Colchester, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Colchester. 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 Colchester, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Colchester and Cebu 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 150% less than in Colchester. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.