Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Icheon and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,595 in Icheon, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Icheon
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Icheon Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Icheon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,595

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,595 in Icheon versus $918 in Cebu.

Icheon $1,595
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,043 in Icheon versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Icheon $2,043
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Icheon versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Icheon $2,491
Cebu $1,900

Living in Icheon is roughly 74% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Icheon is 18% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.20 ₩8,238

$3.09 ₱194

100.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.38 ₩64.3K

$24.22 ₱1,525

99.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.62 ₩8,804

$3.92 ₱247

68.88%

Cappuccino

$3.70 ₩4,924

$2.51 ₱158

47.41%

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

$1.33 ₩1,774

$1.59 ₱100

-16.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 ₩1,553

$0.53 ₱33.43

120.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 ₩5,052

$1.78 ₱112

113.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 ₩5,607

$2.17 ₱137

94.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 ₩2,970

$1.92 ₱121

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.27 ₩4,346

$1.36 ₱85.4

140.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 ₩4,263

$1.01 ₱63.5

217.82%

Eggs

$2.74 ₩3,650

$2.03 ₱128

34.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 ₩14.6K

$9.86 ₱621

11.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.56 ₩14.0K

$4.39 ₱277

140.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.36 ₩33.7K

$7.60 ₱479

233.68%

Apples (1kg)

$11.33 ₩15.1K

$3.30 ₱208

243.33%

Banana (1kg)

$3.56 ₩4,731

$1.39 ₱87.8

156.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.13 ₩10.8K

$2.33 ₱147

248.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.90 ₩7,849

$1.50 ₱94.3

293.33%

Potato (1kg)

$6.05 ₩8,043

$2.36 ₱149

156.36%

Onion (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,489

$1.90 ₱119

77.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.74 ₩3,647

$1.19 ₱74.9

130.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₩1,701

$0.63 ₱39.71

103.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.29 ₩4,378

$3.00 ₱189

9.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.65 ₩24.8K

$6.03 ₱379

209.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ₩3,245

$1.23 ₱77.7

98.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 ₩4,546

$1.75 ₱110

95.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 ₩1,466

$0.25 ₱15.86

340.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 ₩4,836

$0.77 ₱48.62

372.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 ₩1,028

$0.23 ₱14.53

234.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.77 ₩22.3K

$4.46 ₱281

276.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ₩1,821

$1.31 ₱82.8

4.58%

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

$29.9K ₩39.8M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

40.88%

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

$33.4K ₩44.4M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

74.42%

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

$200 ₩265.3K

$120 ₱7,569

65.96%

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

$36.02 ₩47.9K

$14.00 ₱882

157.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.21 ₩36.2K

$27.54 ₱1,734

-1.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.45 ₩29.8K

$32.33 ₱2,035

-30.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$11.28 ₩15.0K

$5.65 ₱356

99.65%

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

$642 ₩853.2K

$275 ₱17.3K

133.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K ₩29.4M

$7,918 ₱498.5K

179.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 ₩141.3K

$49.33 ₱3,106

115.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.5 ₩87.1K

$25.24 ₱1,589

159.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.9 ₩124.8K

$77.0 ₱4,846

21.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 ₩171.6K

$57.2 ₱3,601

125.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$748 ₩994.5K

$500 ₱31.5K

49.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$459 ₩609.7K

$309 ₱19.4K

48.50%

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)

$2,317 ₩3.1M

$346 ₱21.8K

569.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

7.2

-45.83%

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

Last update for Icheon: 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

Icheon

$488 30.6%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 57.8% $282

Accommodation & Living

Icheon

$459 28.8%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 32.7% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Icheon

$263 16.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 38.4% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Icheon

$178 11.1%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 47.1% $84

Eating Out

Icheon

$151 9.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 41.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Icheon

$45 2.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 3.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Icheon

$12 * 0.8%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 30.7% $3.7

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 $748 in Icheon and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Icheon pays 570% 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: $48.00 in Icheon vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $488 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Icheon

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

03:05 3:05 AM

02:05 2:05 AM

1 h behind Icheon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

213,059

964,169

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Icheon Cebu 3,020 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Icheon
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

Icheon vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 74% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 570% higher in Icheon, 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: $748 in Icheon versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 137% higher in Icheon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,595 per month in Icheon versus $918 in Cebu – a 74% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,595 in Icheon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Icheon. 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 Icheon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Icheon 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 74% less than in Icheon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.