Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,320 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,320 in Harlow versus $918 in Cebu.

Harlow $2,320
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,416 in Harlow versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Harlow $3,416
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,513 in Harlow versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Harlow $4,513
Cebu $1,900

Living in Harlow is roughly 153% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Harlow is 72% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.12 £15.84

$3.09 ₱194

583.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.0 £69.7

$24.22 ₱1,525

283.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 £8.04

$3.92 ₱247

173.47%

Cappuccino

$5.71 £4.28

$2.51 ₱158

127.49%

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

$2.61 £1.96

$1.59 ₱100

64.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.53 ₱33.43

237.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.71 £5.03

$1.78 ₱112

276.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 £5.11

$2.17 ₱137

213.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.92 ₱121

-29.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.36 ₱85.4

1.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 £0.82

$1.01 ₱63.5

8.91%

Eggs

$2.35 £1.76

$2.03 ₱128

15.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.66 £5.00

$9.86 ₱621

-32.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.12 £4.59

$4.39 ₱277

39.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.73 £5.05

$7.60 ₱479

-11.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$3.30 ₱208

-38.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.39 ₱87.8

-15.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$2.33 ₱147

-50.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.50 ₱94.3

30.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.36 ₱149

-33.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.90 ₱119

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.19 ₱74.9

13.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.63 ₱39.71

134.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.83 £15.63

$3.00 ₱189

594.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.04 £6.78

$6.03 ₱379

49.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.04

$1.23 ₱77.7

121.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.75 ₱110

10.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.63 £1.97

$0.25 ₱15.86

952.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$0.77 ₱48.62

658.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.23 ₱14.53

604.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.14 £15.86

$4.46 ₱281

373.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.31 ₱82.8

41.22%

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

$37.4K £28.0K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

76.01%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

114.41%

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

$220 £165

$120 ₱7,569

82.58%

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

$11.73 £8.80

$14.00 ₱882

-16.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.08 £21.07

$27.54 ₱1,734

1.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.62 £34.22

$32.33 ₱2,035

41.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.11 £6.09

$6.65 ₱419

21.95%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.43

$5.65 ₱356

122.30%

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

$1,062 £797

$275 ₱17.3K

285.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

152.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 £52.4

$49.33 ₱3,106

41.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.69 £23.77

$25.24 ₱1,589

25.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 £57.8

$77.0 ₱4,846

0.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.87 £28.41

$57.2 ₱3,601

-33.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 £1,048

$500 ₱31.5K

179.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 £993

$309 ₱19.4K

328.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,253 £1,690

$1,078 ₱67.9K

109.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,211 £1,659

$615 ₱38.7K

259.39%

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)

$2,992 £2,245

$346 ₱21.8K

765.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

7.2

-31.81%

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

Last update for Harlow: 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

Harlow

$1.3K 57.1%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 76.7% $1K

Eating Out

Harlow

$334 14.4%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 73.6% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$259 11.2%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 37.6% $98

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$209 9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 1.7% $3.6

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$97 4.2%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 3.6% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$71 3.1%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 38.3% $27

Getting Around

Harlow

$24 * 1.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 36.3% $8.9

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 $1,397 in Harlow and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 765% 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: $93.0 in Harlow vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $209 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

23:42 11:42 PM

06:42 6:42 AM

7 h ahead of Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Harlow Cebu 11,280 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
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

Harlow vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 153% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 765% higher in Harlow, 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: $1,397 in Harlow versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Harlow. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,320 per month in Harlow versus $918 in Cebu – a 153% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,320 in Harlow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Harlow. 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 Harlow, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Harlow 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 153% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.