Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Essaouira and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Essaouira: $782 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Essaouira
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Essaouira Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Essaouira

🇲🇦 Morocco

$782

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $782 in Essaouira versus $918 in Cebu.

Essaouira $782
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,172 in Essaouira versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Essaouira $1,172
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,562 in Essaouira versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Essaouira $1,562
Cebu $1,900

Living in Essaouira costs roughly 15% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Essaouira 42% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.62 MAD 45.00

$3.09 ₱194

49.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.81 MAD 183

$24.22 ₱1,525

-22.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.12 MAD 69.4

$3.92 ₱247

81.63%

Cappuccino

$1.35 MAD 13.14

$2.51 ₱158

-46.22%

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

$0.47 MAD 4.58

$1.59 ₱100

-70.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MAD 3.68

$0.53 ₱33.43

-28.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.31 MAD 51.8

$1.78 ₱112

198.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 MAD 44.93

$2.17 ₱137

112.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 MAD 8.79

$1.92 ₱121

-53.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 MAD 5.25

$1.36 ₱85.4

-60.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MAD 16.28

$1.01 ₱63.5

65.35%

Eggs

$1.68 MAD 16.37

$2.03 ₱128

-17.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.27 MAD 80.6

$9.86 ₱621

-16.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 MAD 56.6

$4.39 ₱277

32.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.62 MAD 104

$7.60 ₱479

39.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.30 MAD 12.63

$3.30 ₱208

-60.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.14 MAD 11.12

$1.39 ₱87.8

-17.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.72 MAD 7.02

$2.33 ₱147

-69.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.77 MAD 7.52

$1.50 ₱94.3

-48.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 MAD 5.67

$2.36 ₱149

-75.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 MAD 6.66

$1.90 ₱119

-64.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 MAD 3.67

$1.19 ₱74.9

-68.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MAD 5.68

$0.63 ₱39.71

-7.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 MAD 37.44

$3.00 ₱189

28.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.32 MAD 61.6

$6.03 ₱379

4.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MAD 17.76

$1.23 ₱77.7

47.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 MAD 20.77

$1.75 ₱110

21.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 MAD 7.99

$0.25 ₱15.86

228.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 MAD 6.22

$0.77 ₱48.62

-16.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 MAD 6.19

$0.23 ₱14.53

173.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MAD 14.16

$1.31 ₱82.8

10.69%

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

$34.6K MAD 337.3K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

62.85%

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

$29.5K MAD 287.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

54.16%

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

$23.89 MAD 233

$120 ₱7,569

-80.13%

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

$17.25 MAD 168

$14.00 ₱882

23.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.01 MAD 293

$27.54 ₱1,734

8.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.30 MAD 51.7

$5.65 ₱356

-6.19%

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

$69.0 MAD 672

$275 ₱17.3K

-74.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,875 MAD 18.3K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-76.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.38 MAD 286

$49.33 ₱3,106

-40.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.72 MAD 436

$25.24 ₱1,589

77.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.0 MAD 576

$77.0 ₱4,846

-23.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.76 MAD 407

$57.2 ₱3,601

-26.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 MAD 3,835

$500 ₱31.5K

-21.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 MAD 3,217

$309 ₱19.4K

6.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$930 MAD 9,071

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-13.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$557 MAD 5,433

$615 ₱38.7K

-9.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$256 MAD 2,498

$346 ₱21.8K

-25.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.5

7.2

-9.72%

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

Last update for Essaouira: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Essaouira

$330 42.2%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 6.4% $21

Groceries & Markets

Essaouira

$171 21.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 20.3% $35

Eating Out

Essaouira

$114 14.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 22.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Essaouira

$79 10.1%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 19.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Essaouira

$71 9.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 127% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Essaouira

$11 * 1.4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 312% $33

Getting Around

Essaouira

$7.1 * 0.9%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 120% $8.5

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 $393 in Essaouira and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 35% 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: $19.00 in Essaouira vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $206 per month, with Essaouira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Essaouira

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

01:22 1:22 AM

7 h ahead of Essaouira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,966

964,169

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Essaouira Cebu 13,240 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Essaouira
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

Essaouira vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Essaouira is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 17% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Cebu. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $393 in Essaouira versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $782 per month in Essaouira versus $918 in Cebu – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

For families, Essaouira 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, Essaouira 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 Essaouira gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.