Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elmina and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Elmina: $668 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

33

Cost of Living Index in Elmina
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Elmina Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Elmina

🇬🇭 Ghana

$668

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $668 in Elmina versus $918 in Cebu.

Elmina $668
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,125 in Elmina versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Elmina $1,125
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,582 in Elmina versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Elmina $1,582
Cebu $1,900

Living in Elmina costs roughly 27% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Elmina 51% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.82 GHS 90.8

$3.09 ₱195

153.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.8 GHS 590

$24.22 ₱1,526

109.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.26 GHS 119

$3.92 ₱247

161.73%

Cappuccino

$4.46 GHS 51.7

$2.51 ₱158

77.69%

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

$1.53 GHS 17.80

$1.59 ₱100

-3.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 GHS 5.11

$0.53 ₱33.47

-16.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 GHS 20.98

$1.78 ₱112

1.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 GHS 25.12

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$3.67 GHS 42.57

$1.92 ₱121

91.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 GHS 19.32

$1.36 ₱85.5

22.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.06 GHS 35.54

$1.01 ₱63.6

202.97%

Eggs

$2.68 GHS 31.13

$2.03 ₱128

32.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.03 GHS 140

$9.86 ₱622

22.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.08 GHS 82.1

$4.39 ₱277

61.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.62 GHS 112

$7.60 ₱479

26.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 GHS 41.82

$3.30 ₱208

9.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 GHS 16.28

$1.39 ₱87.9

0.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 GHS 20.53

$2.33 ₱147

-24.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 GHS 41.34

$1.50 ₱94.4

137.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.69 GHS 31.21

$2.36 ₱149

13.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 GHS 30.74

$1.90 ₱119

39.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 GHS 8.32

$1.19 ₱75.0

-39.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 GHS 7.01

$0.63 ₱39.75

-4.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.51 GHS 29.12

$3.00 ₱189

-16.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.06 GHS 81.9

$6.03 ₱380

17.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 GHS 14.07

$1.23 ₱77.7

-1.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 GHS 27.07

$1.75 ₱110

33.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 GHS 20.24

$0.77 ₱48.66

125.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 GHS 14.61

$0.23 ₱14.54

447.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.30 GHS 49.87

$4.46 ₱281

-3.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 GHS 15.54

$1.31 ₱82.9

2.29%

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

$7,913 GHS 91.8K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

-62.75%

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

$9,662 GHS 112.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

-49.54%

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

$73.7 GHS 855

$120 ₱7,577

-38.70%

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

$19.07 GHS 221

$14.00 ₱883

36.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.25 GHS 490

$27.54 ₱1,736

53.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,037

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$12.66 GHS 147

$5.65 ₱356

124.07%

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

$470 GHS 5,450

$275 ₱17.3K

70.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K GHS 216.0K

$7,918 ₱499.0K

135.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.18 GHS 164

$49.33 ₱3,109

-71.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.59 GHS 216

$25.24 ₱1,591

-26.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.74 GHS 426

$77.0 ₱4,850

-52.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.0 GHS 603

$57.2 ₱3,605

-9.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.75

7.2

271.53%

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

Last update for Elmina: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Elmina

$276 41.4%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 25.5% $71

Eating Out

Elmina

$168 25.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 47.5% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elmina

$135 20.2%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 19.8% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Elmina

$55 8.2%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 71.8% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Elmina

$25 * 3.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 72.3% $18

Getting Around

Elmina

$8 * 1.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 93.7% $7.5

Accommodation & Living

Elmina

- * 0%

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $51.0 in Elmina vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Elmina

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

11:33 11:33 AM

19:33 7:33 PM

8 h ahead of Elmina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,403

964,169

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.62 USD

100 GHS = 7.69 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 11.6 GHS (100 GHS = 8.62 USD). 1 EUR = 13.01 GHS (100 GHS = 7.69 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 63.02 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.68 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Elmina Cebu 13,720 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Elmina
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

Elmina vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elmina is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and transport. The 37% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,001 in Elmina 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.

Shoppers in Cebu pay roughly 34% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $668 per month in Elmina versus $918 in Cebu – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Elmina gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Elmina is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Elmina 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 Elmina gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.