Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grafton and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,437 in Grafton, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Grafton
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Grafton Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Grafton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,437

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,437 in Grafton versus $918 in Cebu.

Grafton $2,437
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,470 in Grafton versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Grafton $3,470
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,504 in Grafton versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Grafton $4,504
Cebu $1,900

Living in Grafton is roughly 166% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Grafton is 81% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.31 A$24.90

$3.09 ₱194

460.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.8 A$102

$24.22 ₱1,525

192.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.35 A$16.33

$3.92 ₱247

189.54%

Cappuccino

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.51 ₱158

30.68%

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

$2.74 A$3.95

$1.59 ₱100

72.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 A$3.61

$0.53 ₱33.43

373.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.37 A$12.05

$1.78 ₱112

370.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.55 A$12.30

$2.17 ₱137

294.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 A$1.64

$1.92 ₱121

-40.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 A$3.91

$1.36 ₱85.4

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 A$3.29

$1.01 ₱63.5

126.73%

Eggs

$3.65 A$5.25

$2.03 ₱128

79.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.99 A$12.94

$9.86 ₱621

-8.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.74 A$11.14

$4.39 ₱277

76.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.00 A$20.15

$7.60 ₱479

84.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 A$4.09

$3.30 ₱208

-13.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.96

$1.39 ₱87.8

-2.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.33 ₱147

30.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 A$6.90

$1.50 ₱94.3

220.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 A$2.98

$2.36 ₱149

-12.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 A$3.15

$1.90 ₱119

15.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.76 A$2.53

$1.19 ₱74.9

47.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 A$1.61

$0.63 ₱39.71

77.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.96 A$43.12

$3.00 ₱189

898.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.62 A$18.16

$6.03 ₱379

109.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.23 ₱77.7

325.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.04 A$7.25

$1.75 ₱110

188.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 A$4.40

$0.25 ₱15.86

1120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.3 A$133

$12.64 ₱796

629.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.95 A$4.24

$0.77 ₱48.62

283.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 A$2.68

$0.23 ₱14.53

708.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.63 A$58.5

$4.46 ₱281

810.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 A$1.89

$1.31 ₱82.8

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

$27.4K A$39.4K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

28.97%

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

$24.2K A$34.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

26.27%

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

$158 A$227

$120 ₱7,569

31.38%

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

$25.90 A$37.26

$14.00 ₱882

85.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.09 A$69.2

$27.54 ₱1,734

74.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 A$79.7

$32.33 ₱2,035

71.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.55 A$23.82

$6.65 ₱419

148.87%

Cinema Ticket

$11.76 A$16.92

$5.65 ₱356

108.14%

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

$680 A$978

$275 ₱17.3K

146.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,086 A$4,441

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-61.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.6 A$117

$49.33 ₱3,106

65.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.48 A$62.6

$25.24 ₱1,589

72.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$77.0 ₱4,846

43.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 A$159

$57.2 ₱3,601

93.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,361 A$1,959

$500 ₱31.5K

172.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 A$1,786

$309 ₱19.4K

301.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,021 A$2,908

$1,078 ₱67.9K

87.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 A$2,638

$615 ₱38.7K

198.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,426 A$7,808

$2,886 ₱181.7K

88.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,449 A$6,403

$1,917 ₱120.7K

132.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,426 A$3,492

$346 ₱21.8K

601.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.81

7.2

-19.31%

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

Last update for Grafton: 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

Grafton

$1.2K 50.9%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 75.1% $932

Groceries & Markets

Grafton

$321 13.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 35.9% $115

Eating Out

Grafton

$292 12%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 69.8% $204

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grafton

$232 9.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 30.3% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Grafton

$156 6.4%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 39.7% $62

Getting Around

Grafton

$117 4.8%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 86.7% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Grafton

$79 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 44.7% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,361 in Grafton and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grafton pays 601% 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: $71.0 in Grafton vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Grafton

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

03:26 3:26 AM

3 h behind Grafton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,255

964,169

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grafton Cebu 5,420 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Grafton
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

Grafton vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 166% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 601% higher in Grafton, 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: $1,361 in Grafton versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,437 per month in Grafton versus $918 in Cebu – a 166% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 630% less than in Grafton. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,437 in Grafton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Grafton. 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 Grafton, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Grafton 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 166% less than in Grafton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.