Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilford and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,414 in Ilford, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ilford
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Ilford Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Ilford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,414

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,414 in Ilford versus $918 in Cebu.

Ilford $2,414
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,764 in Ilford versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Ilford $3,764
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,115 in Ilford versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Ilford $5,115
Cebu $1,900

Living in Ilford is roughly 163% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ilford is 79% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.28 £15.97

$3.09 ₱194

588.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.9 £70.5

$24.22 ₱1,525

287.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 £7.89

$3.92 ₱247

168.11%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.45

$2.51 ₱158

83.27%

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

$2.81 £2.11

$1.59 ₱100

76.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.38

$0.53 ₱33.43

245.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.91 £5.93

$1.78 ₱112

344.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 £4.82

$2.17 ₱137

196.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.92 ₱121

-14.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.36 ₱85.4

26.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.30 £1.72

$1.01 ₱63.5

127.72%

Eggs

$4.60 £3.45

$2.03 ₱128

126.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.46 £7.09

$9.86 ₱621

-4.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 £7.21

$4.39 ₱277

118.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.45 £11.59

$7.60 ₱479

103.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 £2.21

$3.30 ₱208

-10.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.39 ₱87.8

1.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.22

$2.33 ₱147

27.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.50 ₱94.3

118.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.36 ₱149

-29.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.90 ₱119

-6.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.19 ₱74.9

7.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.33

$0.63 ₱39.71

180.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.20 £16.65

$3.00 ₱189

640.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.88 £8.16

$6.03 ₱379

80.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.04 £2.28

$1.23 ₱77.7

147.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 £2.94

$1.75 ₱110

124.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.43 £2.57

$0.25 ₱15.86

1272.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.6 £73.2

$12.64 ₱796

672.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 £4.05

$0.77 ₱48.62

600.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 £1.96

$0.23 ₱14.53

1034.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.45 £19.09

$4.46 ₱281

470.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 £1.58

$1.31 ₱82.8

61.07%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

83.31%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

113.77%

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

$334 £250

$120 ₱7,569

177.40%

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

$18.31 £13.73

$14.00 ₱882

30.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.86 £30.65

$27.54 ₱1,734

48.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 £33.70

$32.33 ₱2,035

38.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$17.09 £12.82

$5.65 ₱356

202.48%

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

$2,535 £1,902

$275 ₱17.3K

820.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.1K £26.3K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

342.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 £66.0

$49.33 ₱3,106

78.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.25 £34.69

$25.24 ₱1,589

83.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.0 £69.8

$77.0 ₱4,846

20.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.2 £72.1

$57.2 ₱3,601

68.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,350 £1,013

$500 ₱31.5K

170.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 £768

$309 ₱19.4K

231.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,960 £2,221

$1,078 ₱67.9K

174.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 £1,575

$615 ₱38.7K

241.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,983 £3,738

$2,886 ₱181.7K

72.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,831 £2,874

$1,917 ₱120.7K

99.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,485 £2,614

$346 ₱21.8K

907.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

7.2

-30.00%

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

Last update for Ilford: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ilford

$1K 42.4%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 69.8% $714

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilford

$393 16.3%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 58.8% $231

Eating Out

Ilford

$328 13.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 73.1% $240

Groceries & Markets

Ilford

$315 13.1%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 34.7% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Ilford

$146 6%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 35.5% $52

Getting Around

Ilford

$130 5.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 88% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Ilford

$79 3.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 44.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,350 in Ilford and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilford pays 907% 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: $94.0 in Ilford vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ilford

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

22:48 10:48 PM

05:48 5:48 AM

7 h ahead of Ilford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

168,168

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

Ilford Cebu 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilford
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

Ilford vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 163% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 907% higher in Ilford, 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: $1,350 in Ilford versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,414 per month in Ilford versus $918 in Cebu – a 163% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 672% less than in Ilford. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,414 in Ilford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Ilford. 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 Ilford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ilford 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 163% less than in Ilford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.