Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Medano and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,447 in El Medano, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in El Medano
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El Medano Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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El Medano

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,447

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,447 in El Medano versus $918 in Cebu.

El Medano $1,447
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,394 in El Medano versus $1,409 in Cebu.

El Medano $2,394
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,342 in El Medano versus $1,900 in Cebu.

El Medano $3,342
Cebu $1,900

Living in El Medano is roughly 58% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: El Medano is 7% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.37 €18.12

$3.09 ₱194

559.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €54.9

$24.22 ₱1,525

154.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 €10.13

$3.92 ₱247

190.31%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.77

$2.51 ₱158

-20.72%

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

$1.90 €1.69

$1.59 ₱100

19.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$0.53 ₱33.43

145.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 €2.45

$1.78 ₱112

55.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 €2.91

$2.17 ₱137

51.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.92 ₱121

-31.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 €2.14

$1.36 ₱85.4

77.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 €1.41

$1.01 ₱63.5

57.43%

Eggs

$4.18 €3.72

$2.03 ₱128

105.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.57 €12.96

$9.86 ₱621

47.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 €8.23

$4.39 ₱277

110.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.98 €15.99

$7.60 ₱479

136.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 €2.21

$3.30 ₱208

-24.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.39 ₱87.8

64.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.33 ₱147

-3.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 €2.25

$1.50 ₱94.3

68.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$2.36 ₱149

-11.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.90 ₱119

1.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.19 ₱74.9

37.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 €0.87

$0.63 ₱39.71

55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.52 €4.91

$3.00 ₱189

84.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.73 €6.88

$6.03 ₱379

28.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.23 ₱77.7

36.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.75 ₱110

-21.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 €1.49

$0.25 ₱15.86

568.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.49 €22.67

$12.64 ₱796

101.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.08 €3.63

$0.77 ₱48.62

429.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.23 ₱14.53

652.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.58 €14.75

$4.46 ₱281

271.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.31 ₱82.8

-4.58%

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

$27.1K €24.1K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

27.75%

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

$28.8K €25.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

50.67%

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

$98.8 €87.9

$120 ₱7,569

-17.83%

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

$22.46 €19.98

$14.00 ₱882

60.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.17 €31.28

$27.54 ₱1,734

27.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.58 €39.66

$32.33 ₱2,035

37.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.75 €14.01

$6.65 ₱419

136.84%

Cinema Ticket

$9.90 €8.81

$5.65 ₱356

75.22%

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

$407 €362

$275 ₱17.3K

47.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,118 €4,553

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-35.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.2 €82.0

$49.33 ₱3,106

86.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.86 €37.24

$25.24 ₱1,589

65.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.2 €80.3

$77.0 ₱4,846

17.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €102

$57.2 ₱3,601

99.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$895 €796

$500 ₱31.5K

79.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$468 €416

$309 ₱19.4K

51.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 €1,205

$1,078 ₱67.9K

25.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,027 €913

$615 ₱38.7K

66.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,258 €2,898

$2,886 ₱181.7K

12.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,228 €1,982

$1,917 ₱120.7K

16.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

7.2

-50.56%

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

Last update for El Medano: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Medano

$468 32.3%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 34% $159

Groceries & Markets

El Medano

$307 21.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 33% $101

Eating Out

El Medano

$254 17.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 65.3% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Medano

$156 10.8%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 3.4% $5.4

Clothing & Footwear

El Medano

$152 10.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 38.4% $58

Sport & Entertainment

El Medano

$64 4.5%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 32.2% $21

Getting Around

El Medano

$45 3.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 65.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $895 in El Medano and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $62.0 in El Medano vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 El Medano

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

03:52 3:52 AM

10:52 10:52 AM

7 h ahead of El Medano

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,500

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

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Between locations

El Medano Cebu 13,990 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

El Medano
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

El Medano vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 58% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,171 in El Medano and $1,377 in Cebu 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $895 in El Medano versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,447 per month in El Medano versus $918 in Cebu – a 58% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 102% less than in El Medano. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,447 in El Medano, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in El Medano. 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 El Medano, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, El Medano 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 58% less than in El Medano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.