Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hella and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,722 in Hella, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. The total is higher in Hella despite lower rent and utilities.

84

Cost of Living Index in Hella
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Hella Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Hella

🇮🇸 Iceland

$1,722

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,722 in Hella versus $918 in Cebu.

Hella $1,722
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,928 in Hella versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Hella $2,928
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,135 in Hella versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Hella $4,135
Cebu $1,900

Living in Hella is roughly 88% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hella is 28% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$31.26 ISK 3,791

$3.09 ₱194

911.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$123 ISK 14.9K

$24.22 ₱1,525

406.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$27.14 ISK 3,291

$3.92 ₱247

592.35%

Cappuccino

$6.93 ISK 841

$2.51 ₱158

176.10%

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

$3.36 ISK 407

$1.59 ₱100

111.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 ISK 373

$0.53 ₱33.43

479.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.71 ISK 1,663

$1.78 ₱112

670.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.32 ISK 1,495

$2.17 ₱137

467.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 ISK 247

$1.92 ₱121

6.25%

White Bread (500g)

$4.26 ISK 516

$1.36 ₱85.4

213.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.58 ISK 434

$1.01 ₱63.5

254.46%

Eggs

$6.99 ISK 848

$2.03 ₱128

244.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.00 ISK 2,668

$9.86 ₱621

123.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$24.51 ISK 2,973

$4.39 ₱277

458.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.04 ISK 4,978

$7.60 ₱479

440.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.35 ISK 406

$3.30 ₱208

1.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 ISK 347

$1.39 ₱87.8

105.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.13 ISK 379

$2.33 ₱147

34.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.62 ISK 803

$1.50 ₱94.3

341.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.81 ISK 463

$2.36 ₱149

61.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 ISK 208

$1.90 ₱119

-10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.78 ISK 458

$1.19 ₱74.9

217.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 ISK 215

$0.63 ₱39.71

180.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.79 ISK 1,672

$3.00 ₱189

359.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.61 ISK 2,863

$6.03 ₱379

291.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.71 ISK 449

$1.23 ₱77.7

201.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ISK 425

$1.75 ₱110

100.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.61 ISK 802

$0.77 ₱48.62

758.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.76 ISK 335

$0.23 ₱14.53

1100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$81.2 ISK 9,844

$4.46 ₱281

1719.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 ISK 253

$1.31 ₱82.8

59.54%

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

$51.2K ISK 6.2M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

141.19%

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

$54.1K ISK 6.6M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

182.68%

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

$95.2 ISK 11.5K

$120 ₱7,569

-20.84%

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

$33.16 ISK 4,022

$14.00 ₱882

136.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$87.7 ISK 10.6K

$27.54 ₱1,734

218.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$19.67 ISK 2,386

$5.65 ₱356

248.14%

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

$1,198 ISK 145.2K

$275 ₱17.3K

334.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.7K ISK 3.1M

$7,918 ₱498.5K

223.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$147 ISK 17.8K

$49.33 ₱3,106

197.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.0 ISK 8,130

$25.24 ₱1,589

165.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$183 ISK 22.2K

$77.0 ₱4,846

137.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$253 ISK 30.7K

$57.2 ₱3,601

342.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

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)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.81

7.2

22.36%

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

Last update for Hella: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hella

$620 36%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 66.8% $415

Eating Out

Hella

$534 31%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 83.5% $445

Clothing & Footwear

Hella

$292 17%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 67.9% $198

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hella

$216 12.6%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 25.1% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Hella

$39 * 2.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 10.9% $4.3

Getting Around

Hella

$20 * 1.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 23.8% $4.9

Accommodation & Living

Hella

- * 0%

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $123 in Hella vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $620 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇸 Hella

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:40 4:40 AM

12:40 12:40 PM

8 h ahead of Hella

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

900

964,169

💱 Currency

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to ISK – Icelandic Króna Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇸 Icelandic Króna (kr)

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 136 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to ISK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hella Cebu 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Hella
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

Hella vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 88% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,583 in Hella and $1,377 in Cebu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 201% higher in Hella. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,722 per month in Hella versus $918 in Cebu – a 88% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,722 in Hella, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Hella. 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 Hella, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Hella 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 88% less than in Hella. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.