Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cortona and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,782 in Cortona, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Cortona
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Cortona Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Cortona

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,782

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cortona 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 Cortona and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,782 in Cortona versus $918 in Cebu.

Cortona $1,782
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,699 in Cortona versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Cortona $2,699
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,616 in Cortona versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Cortona $3,616
Cebu $1,900

Living in Cortona is roughly 94% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.97 €17.76

$3.09 ₱194

546.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 €71.4

$24.22 ₱1,525

231.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.47 €10.21

$3.92 ₱247

192.60%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.77

$2.51 ₱158

-20.72%

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

$3.37 €3.00

$1.59 ₱100

111.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$0.53 ₱33.43

166.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.61 €5.88

$1.78 ₱112

271.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$2.17 ₱137

101.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.92 ₱121

-11.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.36 ₱85.4

61.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.11 €2.77

$1.01 ₱63.5

207.92%

Eggs

$5.20 €4.62

$2.03 ₱128

156.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.98 €24.89

$9.86 ₱621

183.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.13 €14.34

$4.39 ₱277

267.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.34 €21.65

$7.60 ₱479

220.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.64

$3.30 ₱208

-10.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.39 ₱87.8

55.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 €2.93

$2.33 ₱147

41.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 €2.89

$1.50 ₱94.3

116.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.12 €2.78

$2.36 ₱149

32.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.90 ₱119

14.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 €1.68

$1.19 ₱74.9

57.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.63 ₱39.71

31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.66 €6.81

$3.00 ₱189

155.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.55 €7.61

$6.03 ₱379

41.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.30

$1.23 ₱77.7

110.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 €3.62

$1.75 ₱110

132.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 €4.94

$0.77 ₱48.62

620.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.23 ₱14.53

860.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.50 €10.23

$4.46 ₱281

157.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.31 ₱82.8

59.54%

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

$36.5K €32.4K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

71.63%

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

$35.3K €31.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

84.38%

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

$339 €301

$120 ₱7,569

181.68%

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

$12.19 €10.84

$14.00 ₱882

-12.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.74 €38.02

$27.54 ₱1,734

55.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.43 €25.29

$32.33 ₱2,035

-12.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.22 €9.98

$6.65 ₱419

68.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.59

$5.65 ₱356

90.80%

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

$634 €564

$275 ₱17.3K

130.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,834 €7,858

$7,918 ₱498.5K

11.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.7 €88.7

$49.33 ₱3,106

102.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 €67.4

$25.24 ₱1,589

200.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 €78.0

$77.0 ₱4,846

13.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$194 €172

$57.2 ₱3,601

238.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$839 €746

$500 ₱31.5K

67.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 €357

$309 ₱19.4K

29.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,487 €1,323

$1,078 ₱67.9K

37.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$613 €546

$615 ₱38.7K

-0.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,234 €1,987

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-22.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,788 €2,480

$1,917 ₱120.7K

45.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,170 €2,820

$346 ₱21.8K

816.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.7

7.2

-48.61%

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

Last update for Cortona: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cortona

$436 24.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 52.8% $231

Accommodation & Living

Cortona

$401 22.5%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 23% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cortona

$394 22.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 58.9% $232

Eating Out

Cortona

$279 15.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 68.4% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Cortona

$206 11.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 54.3% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Cortona

$50 2.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 12.7% $6.4

Getting Around

Cortona

$17 * 0.9%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 6.3% $1

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 $839 in Cortona and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cortona pays 816% 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: $80.0 in Cortona vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $436 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cortona

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:31 1:31 AM

07:31 7:31 AM

6 h ahead of Cortona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,450

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Cortona Cebu 10,930 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cortona
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

Cortona vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 94% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 816% higher in Cortona, 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: $839 in Cortona versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 112% higher in Cortona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,782 per month in Cortona versus $918 in Cebu – a 94% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,782 in Cortona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Cortona. 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 Cortona, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cortona 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 94% less than in Cortona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.