Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,625 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,625

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,625 in Edinburgh versus $934 in Cebu.

Edinburgh $2,625
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,915 in Edinburgh versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Edinburgh $3,915
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,205 in Edinburgh versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Edinburgh $5,205
Cebu $1,896

Living in Edinburgh is roughly 181% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Edinburgh is 96% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.18 £18.28

$3.03 ₱191

698.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £80.0

$23.48 ₱1,476

350.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.90

$4.09 ₱257

155.50%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.96

$2.52 ₱158

107.94%

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

$2.48 £1.88

$1.54 ₱97.2

61.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.63

$0.49 ₱31.06

340.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 £6.01

$1.79 ₱113

344.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.09 £6.12

$2.26 ₱142

257.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.95 ₱122

-12.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.77

$1.43 ₱89.9

63.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 £1.76

$1.02 ₱64.0

128.43%

Eggs

$5.17 £3.91

$2.06 ₱129

150.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.33 £7.05

$9.81 ₱617

-4.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.42 £7.12

$4.61 ₱290

104.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 £11.92

$7.70 ₱484

104.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 £2.32

$3.31 ₱208

-7.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.45 ₱91.2

35.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 £2.53

$2.36 ₱148

41.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.61 £2.73

$1.54 ₱96.6

134.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 £1.52

$2.36 ₱148

-14.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.15

$1.99 ₱125

-23.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.96

$1.15 ₱72.3

10.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$0.67 ₱42.26

173.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.76

$3.00 ₱189

683.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.35

$6.35 ₱399

74.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.44

$1.31 ₱82.1

146.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.43

$1.73 ₱109

85.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 £2.34

$0.25 ₱15.82

1140.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.8 £72.4

$12.65 ₱796

657.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 £3.95

$0.74 ₱46.44

606.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 £1.43

$0.21 ₱13.15

800.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.39 £21.46

$4.33 ₱272

555.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.57

$1.33 ₱83.7

55.64%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

73.95%

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

$39.7K £30.0K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

104.71%

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

$324 £245

$121 ₱7,583

169.06%

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

$16.36 £12.37

$14.45 ₱909

13.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.61

$28.29 ₱1,779

52.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 £33.96

$32.68 ₱2,055

37.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.12 £17.48

$6.39 ₱402

261.82%

Cinema Ticket

$14.35 £10.85

$5.46 ₱343

162.82%

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

$1,783 £1,348

$273 ₱17.2K

552.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £19.0K

$8,156 ₱512.9K

208.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.8 £61.8

$49.57 ₱3,117

64.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.85 £37.68

$24.87 ₱1,564

100.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £81.0

$76.6 ₱4,817

39.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 £88.8

$59.3 ₱3,727

98.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,227

$506 ₱31.8K

220.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 £892

$309 ₱19.5K

281.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,741 £2,072

$1,052 ₱66.1K

160.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,084 £1,576

$619 ₱38.9K

236.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,661 £5,035

$2,915 ₱183.4K

128.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,622 £3,493

$1,867 ₱117.4K

147.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,603 £2,724

$341 ₱21.5K

956.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

7.2

-33.75%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.1%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 73.8% $871

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$384 14.7%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 57.5% $221

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$362 13.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 75.6% $274

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$332 12.7%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 36.6% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$160 6.1%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 41% $66

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$123 4.7%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 87.4% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$74 2.8%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 40.8% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,623 in Edinburgh and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Edinburgh pays 956% 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: $106 in Edinburgh vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

08:55 8:55 AM

7 h ahead of Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

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 = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Cebu 11,190 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

Edinburgh vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 181% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 956% higher in Edinburgh, 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: $1,623 in Edinburgh versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,625 per month in Edinburgh versus $934 in Cebu – a 181% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 657% less than in Edinburgh. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,625 in Edinburgh, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Edinburgh. 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 Edinburgh, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Edinburgh 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 181% less than in Edinburgh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.