Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Honiara and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,742 in Honiara, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,742

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,742 in Honiara versus $934 in Cebu.

Honiara $1,742
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,873 in Honiara versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Honiara $2,873
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,004 in Honiara versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Honiara $4,004
Cebu $1,896

Living in Honiara is roughly 87% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.66 SBD 53.8

$3.03 ₱190

119.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.8 SBD 507

$23.48 ₱1,473

167.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.53 SBD 101

$4.09 ₱256

206.36%

Cappuccino

$3.48 SBD 28.14

$2.52 ₱158

38.10%

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

$1.60 SBD 12.89

$1.54 ₱96.9

3.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 SBD 8.49

$0.49 ₱30.98

114.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 SBD 19.58

$1.79 ₱112

35.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 SBD 46.04

$2.26 ₱142

152.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.57 SBD 20.75

$1.95 ₱122

31.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 SBD 12.00

$1.43 ₱89.7

4.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 SBD 13.28

$1.02 ₱63.8

60.78%

Eggs

$5.48 SBD 44.27

$2.06 ₱129

166.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.61 SBD 53.4

$9.81 ₱615

-32.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.34 SBD 67.4

$4.61 ₱289

80.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.18 SBD 123

$7.70 ₱483

97.14%

Apples (1kg)

$6.39 SBD 51.6

$3.31 ₱207

93.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 SBD 21.83

$1.45 ₱90.9

86.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.70 SBD 70.2

$2.36 ₱148

268.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.67 SBD 29.62

$1.54 ₱96.4

138.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 SBD 16.09

$2.36 ₱148

-15.68%

Onion (1kg)

$3.47 SBD 28.01

$1.99 ₱125

74.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 SBD 11.30

$1.15 ₱72.1

21.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 SBD 8.36

$0.67 ₱42.15

53.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 SBD 34.39

$3.00 ₱188

42.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 SBD 83.7

$6.35 ₱398

63.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 SBD 13.67

$1.31 ₱81.9

29.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.47 SBD 28.00

$1.73 ₱108

100.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.12

$0.25 ₱15.78

56.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.14 SBD 203

$12.65 ₱793

98.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 SBD 10.28

$0.74 ₱46.32

71.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 SBD 9.72

$0.21 ₱13.11

471.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.60 SBD 102

$4.33 ₱271

190.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 SBD 10.92

$1.33 ₱83.5

1.50%

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

$18.7K SBD 151.1K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

-14.04%

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

$34.1K SBD 275.7K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

76.04%

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

$429 SBD 3,464

$121 ₱7,563

255.80%

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

$27.02 SBD 218

$14.45 ₱907

86.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.0 SBD 719

$28.29 ₱1,774

214.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.76 SBD 297

$32.68 ₱2,050

12.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.94 SBD 72.2

$6.39 ₱401

39.91%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 SBD 35.65

$5.46 ₱342

-19.23%

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

$100 SBD 811

$273 ₱17.1K

-63.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,898 SBD 23.4K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

-64.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.71 SBD 224

$49.57 ₱3,109

-44.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$93.5 SBD 755

$24.87 ₱1,560

276.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 SBD 774

$76.6 ₱4,804

25.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 SBD 829

$59.3 ₱3,717

73.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$870 SBD 7,024

$506 ₱31.7K

72.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 SBD 3,507

$309 ₱19.4K

40.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,851 SBD 14.9K

$1,052 ₱66.0K

75.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,398 SBD 11.3K

$619 ₱38.8K

125.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$86.4K SBD 698.0K

$2,915 ₱182.9K

2865.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$62.1K SBD 501.2K

$1,867 ₱117.1K

3224.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$444 SBD 3,583

$341 ₱21.4K

30.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.67

7.2

117.64%

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

Last update for Honiara: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Honiara

$545 31.8%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 70% $382

Accommodation & Living

Honiara

$434 25.3%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 28.8% $125

Groceries & Markets

Honiara

$345 20.1%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 38.9% $134

Eating Out

Honiara

$167 9.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 47% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Honiara

$144 8.4%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 34.2% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Honiara

$46 2.7%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 4.4% $2

Getting Around

Honiara

$34 2%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 54.5% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $870 in Honiara and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Honiara pays 30% 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: $63.0 in Honiara vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Honiara

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

14:08 2:08 PM

11:08 11:08 AM

3 h behind Honiara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,600 Capital

964,169

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to SBD – Solomon Islands Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Dollar ($)

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to SBD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Honiara Cebu 4,550 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Honiara
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

Honiara vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Honiara, 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: $870 in Honiara versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,742 per month in Honiara versus $934 in Cebu – a 87% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 99% less than in Honiara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,742 in Honiara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Honiara. 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 Honiara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Honiara 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 87% less than in Honiara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.