Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,386 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,386

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,386 in Glasgow versus $934 in Cebu.

Glasgow $2,386
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,604 in Glasgow versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Glasgow $3,604
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,823 in Glasgow versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Glasgow $4,823
Cebu $1,896

Living in Glasgow is roughly 155% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Glasgow is 78% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.99 £15.87

$3.03 ₱191

592.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.6

$23.48 ₱1,476

213.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.98

$4.09 ₱257

157.95%

Cappuccino

$4.87 £3.68

$2.52 ₱158

93.25%

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

$2.13 £1.61

$1.54 ₱97.2

38.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.49 ₱31.06

253.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 £3.93

$1.79 ₱113

189.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 £5.03

$2.26 ₱142

194.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.24

$1.95 ₱122

-15.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.43 ₱89.9

9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.02 ₱64.0

100.98%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.88

$2.06 ₱129

84.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 £6.93

$9.81 ₱617

-6.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.00 £6.81

$4.61 ₱290

95.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.66

$7.70 ₱484

117.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$3.31 ₱208

-9.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.18

$1.45 ₱91.2

6.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.24

$2.36 ₱148

25.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.36

$1.54 ₱96.6

103.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.44

$2.36 ₱148

-19.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.99 ₱125

-19.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.15 ₱72.3

-0.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.67 ₱42.26

143.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.88

$3.00 ₱189

688.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.42

$6.35 ₱399

75.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.48

$1.31 ₱82.1

149.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.59

$1.73 ₱109

97.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.08

$0.25 ₱15.82

1528.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £78.1

$12.65 ₱796

717.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 £4.51

$0.74 ₱46.44

705.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 £0.89

$0.21 ₱13.15

457.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 £45.63

$4.33 ₱272

1294.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.61

$1.33 ₱83.7

60.90%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

76.98%

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

$40.4K £30.6K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

108.52%

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

$309 £233

$121 ₱7,583

155.99%

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

$20.34 £15.38

$14.45 ₱909

40.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.92 £31.68

$28.29 ₱1,779

48.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.96 £33.99

$32.68 ₱2,055

37.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.43 £15.45

$6.39 ₱402

219.72%

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £12.02

$5.46 ₱343

191.21%

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

$897 £678

$273 ₱17.2K

228.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K £16.2K

$8,156 ₱512.9K

162.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$133 £101

$49.57 ₱3,117

169.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.49 £35.14

$24.87 ₱1,564

86.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.5

$76.6 ₱4,817

39.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.6 £69.3

$59.3 ₱3,727

54.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,345 £1,016

$506 ₱31.8K

165.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 £795

$309 ₱19.5K

240.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,713 £2,051

$1,052 ₱66.1K

157.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,955 £1,477

$619 ₱38.9K

215.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 £3,030

$2,915 ₱183.4K

37.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 £2,302

$1,867 ₱117.4K

63.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,270 £2,472

$341 ₱21.5K

858.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

7.2

-33.89%

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

Last update for Glasgow: 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

Glasgow

$1.1K 43.4%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 70.6% $743

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$371 15.3%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 56% $208

Eating Out

Glasgow

$313 12.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 71.7% $224

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$308 12.7%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 31.8% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 44.4% $75

Getting Around

Glasgow

$131 5.4%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 88.3% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$77 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 43.2% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,345 in Glasgow and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Glasgow pays 859% 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: $74.0 in Glasgow vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

03:47 3:47 AM

10:47 10:47 AM

7 h ahead of Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

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

Glasgow Cebu 11,250 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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

Glasgow vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 155% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 859% higher in Glasgow, 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: $1,345 in Glasgow versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,386 per month in Glasgow versus $934 in Cebu – a 155% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 717% less than in Glasgow. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,386 in Glasgow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Glasgow. 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 Glasgow, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Glasgow 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 155% less than in Glasgow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.