Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hasselt and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,005 in Hasselt, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Hasselt
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Hasselt Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Hasselt

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,005

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,005 in Hasselt versus $918 in Cebu.

Hasselt $2,005
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,025 in Hasselt versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Hasselt $3,025
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,045 in Hasselt versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Hasselt $4,045
Cebu $1,900

Living in Hasselt is roughly 118% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hasselt is 48% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.57 €20.14

$3.09 ₱194

630.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$102 €90.7

$24.22 ₱1,520

319.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.48 €12.03

$3.92 ₱246

243.88%

Cappuccino

$3.67 €3.27

$2.51 ₱157

46.22%

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

$3.67 €3.27

$1.59 ₱99.9

130.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 €2.85

$0.53 ₱33.33

503.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.12 €4.57

$1.78 ₱112

187.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.60 €5.00

$2.17 ₱136

158.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.92 ₱120

-31.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.52 €2.25

$1.36 ₱85.2

85.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 €1.99

$1.01 ₱63.3

120.79%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.95

$2.03 ₱127

63.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.93 €7.08

$9.86 ₱619

-19.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.52 €10.28

$4.39 ₱276

162.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.13 €20.65

$7.60 ₱477

204.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 €1.80

$3.30 ₱207

-39.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.39 ₱87.5

24.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$2.33 ₱146

10.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.50 ₱94.0

72.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 €1.60

$2.36 ₱148

-24.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.90 ₱119

-31.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.19 ₱74.7

-10.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.63 ₱39.59

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.02 €11.62

$3.00 ₱189

334.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.04 €8.07

$6.03 ₱378

49.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.23 ₱77.4

30.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.79

$1.75 ₱110

14.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.14 €2.80

$0.25 ₱15.81

1156.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.49 €29.00

$12.64 ₱793

157.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.68 €5.07

$0.77 ₱48.47

637.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 €2.38

$0.23 ₱14.49

1056.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.34 €32.43

$4.46 ₱280

714.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.31 ₱82.5

51.91%

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

$35.6K €31.8K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

67.52%

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

$33.9K €30.3K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

77.04%

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

$205 €183

$120 ₱7,547

70.17%

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

$19.80 €17.67

$14.00 ₱879

41.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.52 €41.52

$27.54 ₱1,729

68.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.36 €24.41

$32.33 ₱2,029

-15.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.17 €8.19

$6.65 ₱417

37.89%

Cinema Ticket

$15.14 €13.51

$5.65 ₱355

167.96%

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

$1,591 €1,420

$275 ₱17.3K

477.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.8K €29.3K

$7,918 ₱497.0K

314.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 €98.2

$49.33 ₱3,097

122.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 €46.45

$25.24 ₱1,585

106.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$77.0 ₱4,831

34.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$57.2 ₱3,590

132.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$936 €836

$500 ₱31.4K

87.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 €708

$309 ₱19.4K

157.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,444 €1,289

$1,078 ₱67.7K

33.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 €1,065

$615 ₱38.6K

93.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,517 €4,031

$2,886 ₱181.2K

56.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,384 €2,128

$1,917 ₱120.3K

24.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,034 €2,708

$346 ₱21.7K

776.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

7.2

-51.94%

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

Last update for Hasselt: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hasselt

$794 39.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 61.1% $485

Eating Out

Hasselt

$329 16.4%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 73.2% $241

Groceries & Markets

Hasselt

$310 15.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 33.6% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hasselt

$271 13.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 40.3% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Hasselt

$179 8.9%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 47.6% $85

Getting Around

Hasselt

$64 3.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 75.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Hasselt

$58 2.9%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 24.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $936 in Hasselt and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hasselt pays 777% 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: $102 in Hasselt vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Hasselt

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

08:45 8:45 AM

14:45 2:45 PM

6 h ahead of Hasselt

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,694

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 62.77 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.25 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Hasselt Cebu 11,020 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Hasselt
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

Hasselt vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 118% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 777% higher in Hasselt, 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: $936 in Hasselt versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,005 per month in Hasselt versus $918 in Cebu – a 118% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 157% less than in Hasselt. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,005 in Hasselt, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Hasselt. 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 Hasselt, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Hasselt 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 118% less than in Hasselt. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.