Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durham and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,073 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
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Durham Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,073

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,073 in Durham versus $934 in Cebu.

Durham $2,073
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,286 in Durham versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Durham $3,286
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,498 in Durham versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Durham $4,498
Cebu $1,896

Living in Durham is roughly 122% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Durham is 55% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.57 £14.79

$3.03 ₱190

545.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.4 £70.6

$23.48 ₱1,473

297.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 £8.61

$4.09 ₱256

178.73%

Cappuccino

$4.56 £3.44

$2.52 ₱158

80.95%

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

$2.54 £1.92

$1.54 ₱96.9

64.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.54

$0.49 ₱30.98

316.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 £4.59

$1.79 ₱112

239.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 £4.03

$2.26 ₱142

135.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.95 ₱122

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.17

$1.43 ₱89.7

7.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.02 ₱63.8

197.06%

Eggs

$4.37 £3.30

$2.06 ₱129

112.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 £7.57

$9.81 ₱615

2.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 £6.69

$4.61 ₱289

92.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.35 £16.13

$7.70 ₱483

177.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.21

$3.31 ₱207

-11.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.53 £1.91

$1.45 ₱90.9

74.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 £2.08

$2.36 ₱148

16.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.08 £3.84

$1.54 ₱96.4

229.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 £1.18

$2.36 ₱148

-33.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 £1.29

$1.99 ₱125

-14.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.80

$1.15 ₱72.1

-7.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.42

$0.67 ₱42.15

180.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.61 £17.84

$3.00 ₱188

687.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.64 £8.04

$6.35 ₱398

67.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.50

$1.31 ₱81.9

152.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.38

$1.73 ₱108

82.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.23 £2.44

$0.25 ₱15.78

1192.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.9 £65.7

$12.65 ₱793

587.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.39 £4.83

$0.74 ₱46.32

763.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$0.21 ₱13.11

819.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.68 £17.89

$4.33 ₱271

446.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.42

$1.33 ₱83.5

41.35%

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

$37.8K £28.6K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

73.88%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

111.90%

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

$265 £200

$121 ₱7,563

119.38%

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

$15.21 £11.49

$14.45 ₱907

5.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.95 £32.45

$28.29 ₱1,774

51.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.78 £35.35

$32.68 ₱2,050

43.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

Cinema Ticket

$12.51 £9.45

$5.46 ₱342

129.12%

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

$1,300 £982

$273 ₱17.1K

375.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £19.1K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

209.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £80.3

$49.57 ₱3,109

114.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.4 £53.9

$24.87 ₱1,560

187.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 £86.1

$76.6 ₱4,804

48.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.2 £73.5

$59.3 ₱3,717

64.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,539 £1,163

$506 ₱31.7K

204.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 £562

$309 ₱19.4K

140.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,661 £2,011

$1,052 ₱66.0K

153.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 £1,183

$619 ₱38.8K

152.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,034 £3,804

$2,915 ₱182.9K

72.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,862 £2,919

$1,867 ₱117.1K

106.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,064 £1,559

$341 ₱21.4K

505.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.18

7.2

-28.06%

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

Last update for Durham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durham

$743 35.7%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 58.4% $434

Groceries & Markets

Durham

$348 16.7%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 39.6% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durham

$323 15.5%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 49.4% $159

Eating Out

Durham

$305 14.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 71% $216

Clothing & Footwear

Durham

$175 8.4%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 45.9% $80

Getting Around

Durham

$116 5.6%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 86.7% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Durham

$72 3.5%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 39.3% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,539 in Durham and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durham pays 505% 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: $93.0 in Durham vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $348 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Durham

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

13:23 1:23 PM

7 h ahead of Durham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,100

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Durham Cebu 11,180 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Durham
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

Durham vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 122% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 505% higher in Durham, 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: $1,539 in Durham versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,073 per month in Durham versus $934 in Cebu – a 122% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 587% less than in Durham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,073 in Durham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Durham. 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 Durham, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Durham 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 122% less than in Durham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.