Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ipswich and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,326 in Ipswich, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,326

/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: $2,326 in Ipswich versus $918 in Cebu.

Ipswich $2,326
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,452 in Ipswich versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Ipswich $3,452
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,577 in Ipswich versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Ipswich $4,577
Cebu $1,900

Living in Ipswich is roughly 153% 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 72% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.17 £15.89

$3.09 ₱194

585.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £80.8

$24.22 ₱1,525

344.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 £7.94

$3.92 ₱247

169.90%

Cappuccino

$5.73 £4.30

$2.51 ₱158

128.29%

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

$1.71 £1.28

$1.59 ₱100

7.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.53 ₱33.43

245.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.53 £4.90

$1.78 ₱112

266.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.92 £5.19

$2.17 ₱137

218.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.92 ₱121

-10.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 £1.24

$1.36 ₱85.4

22.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.01 ₱63.5

58.42%

Eggs

$4.34 £3.26

$2.03 ₱128

113.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.59 £9.45

$9.86 ₱621

27.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.82 £6.62

$4.39 ₱277

100.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.17 £11.38

$7.60 ₱479

99.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 £2.26

$3.30 ₱208

-8.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.39 ₱87.8

5.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$2.33 ₱147

15.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.50 ₱94.3

108.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.36 ₱149

-29.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$1.90 ₱119

-25.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.19 ₱74.9

16.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 £1.05

$0.63 ₱39.71

123.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.63 £17.73

$3.00 ₱189

687.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.00 £8.25

$6.03 ₱379

82.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 £2.05

$1.23 ₱77.7

121.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 £2.68

$1.75 ₱110

104.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 £2.12

$0.25 ₱15.86

1028.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.5 £65.7

$12.64 ₱796

592.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 £4.25

$0.77 ₱48.62

636.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 £1.51

$0.23 ₱14.53

778.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.20

$4.46 ₱281

652.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.31 ₱82.8

45.04%

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

$38.7K £29.0K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

81.98%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

109.63%

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

$375 £281

$120 ₱7,569

211.69%

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

$15.57 £11.68

$14.00 ₱882

11.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.75 £30.57

$27.54 ₱1,734

47.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.09 £25.57

$32.33 ₱2,035

5.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.97 £5.98

$6.65 ₱419

19.85%

Cinema Ticket

$17.81 £13.36

$5.65 ₱356

215.22%

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

$1,047 £786

$275 ₱17.3K

280.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K £14.6K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

145.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.4 £52.8

$49.33 ₱3,106

42.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 £40.48

$25.24 ₱1,589

113.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.4 £61.1

$77.0 ₱4,846

5.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.4 £51.3

$57.2 ₱3,601

19.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,069 £802

$500 ₱31.5K

114.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$949 £712

$309 ₱19.4K

207.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 £1,048

$1,078 ₱67.9K

29.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,552 £1,164

$615 ₱38.7K

152.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,984 £3,739

$2,886 ₱181.7K

72.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,916 £2,938

$1,917 ₱120.7K

104.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$346 ₱21.8K

744.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

7.2

-34.17%

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

Last update for Ipswich: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ipswich

$949 40.8%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 67.5% $640

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ipswich

$431 18.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 62.5% $269

Eating Out

Ipswich

$331 14.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 73.3% $242

Groceries & Markets

Ipswich

$308 13.3%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 33.2% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Ipswich

$123 5.3%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 23.9% $29

Getting Around

Ipswich

$115 4.9%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 86.4% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Ipswich

$70 3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 37.4% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,069 in Ipswich and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipswich pays 744% 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: $108 in Ipswich vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ipswich

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

14:04 2:04 PM

21:04 9:04 PM

7 h ahead of Ipswich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

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 18, 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 18, 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

Ipswich Cebu 11,200 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ipswich
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

Ipswich vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 153% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 744% 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: $1,069 in Ipswich versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,326 per month in Ipswich versus $918 in Cebu – a 153% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 592% less than in Ipswich. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,326 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 153% less than in Ipswich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.