Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ipswich and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,037 in Ipswich, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Ipswich
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Ipswich Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Ipswich

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,037

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,037 in Ipswich versus $918 in Cebu.

Ipswich $2,037
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,901 in Ipswich versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Ipswich $2,901
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,766 in Ipswich versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Ipswich $3,766
Cebu $1,900

Living in Ipswich is roughly 122% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ipswich is 51% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$31.50 A$45.33

$3.09 ₱194

919.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.1 A$107

$24.22 ₱1,525

206.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.98 A$14.36

$3.92 ₱247

154.59%

Cappuccino

$4.54 A$6.53

$2.51 ₱158

80.88%

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

$3.92 A$5.64

$1.59 ₱100

146.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.60

$0.53 ₱33.43

371.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.04 A$13.01

$1.78 ₱112

407.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.61 A$10.94

$2.17 ₱137

250.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.42 A$3.48

$1.92 ₱121

26.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 A$3.41

$1.36 ₱85.4

74.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 A$3.19

$1.01 ₱63.5

119.80%

Eggs

$7.14 A$10.27

$2.03 ₱128

251.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 A$10.53

$9.86 ₱621

-25.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.24 A$11.86

$4.39 ₱277

87.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.05 A$20.22

$7.60 ₱479

84.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 A$4.86

$3.30 ₱208

2.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 A$3.70

$1.39 ₱87.8

84.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.10

$2.33 ₱147

22.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 A$5.41

$1.50 ₱94.3

150.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 A$2.87

$2.36 ₱149

-15.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 A$2.95

$1.90 ₱119

7.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.19 ₱74.9

106.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 A$2.56

$0.63 ₱39.71

182.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.60 A$64.2

$3.00 ₱189

1386.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.31 A$32.11

$6.03 ₱379

269.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.21 A$8.93

$1.23 ₱77.7

404.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.15 A$10.28

$1.75 ₱110

308.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 A$0.52

$0.25 ₱15.86

44.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 A$3.14

$0.77 ₱48.62

183.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.25

$0.23 ₱14.53

578.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.12 A$52.0

$4.46 ₱281

709.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.31 ₱82.8

12.21%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

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

$90.9 A$131

$120 ₱7,569

-24.43%

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

$30.70 A$44.18

$14.00 ₱882

119.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 A$90.9

$27.54 ₱1,734

129.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.21 A$24.76

$32.33 ₱2,035

-46.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

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

$275 ₱17.3K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 A$1,476

$500 ₱31.5K

105.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 A$1,463

$309 ₱19.4K

229.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 A$2,038

$1,078 ₱67.9K

31.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,018

$615 ₱38.7K

127.91%

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)

$4,146 A$5,966

$346 ₱21.8K

1098.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.98

7.2

-16.94%

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

Last update for Ipswich: 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

Ipswich

$1K 49.9%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 69.6% $708

Eating Out

Ipswich

$423 20.8%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 79.1% $334

Groceries & Markets

Ipswich

$384 18.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 46.4% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ipswich

$185 9.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 12.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Ipswich

$17 * 0.9%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 154% $26

Getting Around

Ipswich

$11 * 0.6%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 36.1% $4.1

Clothing & Footwear

Ipswich

- * 0%

Cebu

$94 10.2%

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 $1,026 in Ipswich and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipswich pays 1098% 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: $74.0 in Ipswich vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Ipswich

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:00 4:00 AM

02:00 2:00 AM

2 h behind Ipswich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

229,208

964,169

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 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 AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Ipswich Cebu 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

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Ipswich
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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

Ipswich vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 122% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1098% higher in Ipswich, 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: $1,026 in Ipswich versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in Ipswich. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cebu – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $74.0 in Ipswich. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,037 in Ipswich, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Ipswich. 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 Ipswich, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ipswich 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 122% less than in Ipswich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.