Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jambi and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Jambi: $582 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Jambi
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Jambi Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Jambi

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$582

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $582 in Jambi versus $915 in Cebu.

Jambi $582
Cebu $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $920 in Jambi versus $1,418 in Cebu.

Jambi $920
Cebu $1,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,258 in Jambi versus $1,921 in Cebu.

Jambi $1,258
Cebu $1,921

Living in Jambi costs roughly 36% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jambi 57% lower, Cebu 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.54 Rp 27.8K

$3.05 ₱192

-49.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.52 Rp 225.4K

$24.00 ₱1,511

-47.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.2K

$3.99 ₱251

-26.07%

Cappuccino

$1.32 Rp 23.7K

$2.50 ₱157

-47.20%

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

$0.46 Rp 8,256

$1.54 ₱97.1

-70.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 Rp 3,352

$0.50 ₱31.37

-62.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.10 Rp 37.7K

$1.78 ₱112

17.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

$2.17 ₱136

53.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 Rp 19.9K

$2.00 ₱126

-45.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.37 ₱86.2

-18.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 Rp 14.5K

$1.03 ₱64.9

-22.33%

Eggs

$1.47 Rp 26.4K

$2.03 ₱128

-27.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.88 Rp 123.8K

$10.20 ₱642

-32.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$4.45 ₱280

-39.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.34 Rp 150.0K

$7.67 ₱483

8.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 Rp 40.9K

$3.31 ₱208

-31.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.5K

$1.46 ₱91.8

-10.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 Rp 31.6K

$2.32 ₱146

-24.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.4K

$1.49 ₱94.0

-20.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 Rp 23.0K

$2.34 ₱147

-45.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 Rp 35.9K

$1.94 ₱122

2.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 Rp 12.2K

$1.16 ₱73.0

-41.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,031

$0.68 ₱42.89

-42.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.61 Rp 46.9K

$2.99 ₱188

-12.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.00 Rp 324.0K

$6.24 ₱393

188.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 Rp 34.3K

$1.23 ₱77.3

54.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

$1.73 ₱109

64.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,299

$0.23 ₱14.36

4.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 Rp 9,715

$0.79 ₱49.96

-31.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 Rp 7,371

$0.22 ₱13.86

86.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$4.54 ₱286

-48.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 Rp 17.7K

$1.32 ₱82.9

-25.76%

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

$20.5K Rp 368.7M

$21.0K ₱1.3M

-2.48%

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

$34.5K Rp 620.1M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

77.55%

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

$60.0 Rp 1.1M

$119 ₱7,464

-49.39%

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

$4.49 Rp 80.8K

$14.22 ₱896

-68.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.38 Rp 384.8K

$27.47 ₱1,730

-22.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.48 Rp 278.6K

$32.31 ₱2,034

-52.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.59 Rp 154.7K

$6.50 ₱409

32.15%

Cinema Ticket

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$5.40 ₱340

-50.00%

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

$103 Rp 1.9M

$276 ₱17.4K

-62.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,931 Rp 124.8M

$7,866 ₱495.3K

-11.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.84 Rp 861.1K

$49.37 ₱3,108

-3.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.06 Rp 469.1K

$24.58 ₱1,548

6.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.5 Rp 1.3M

$76.6 ₱4,825

-9.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.3 Rp 1.2M

$58.9 ₱3,706

10.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$221 Rp 4.0M

$503 ₱31.7K

-56.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$132 Rp 2.4M

$305 ₱19.2K

-56.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 Rp 11.1M

$1,075 ₱67.7K

-42.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 Rp 5.6M

$632 ₱39.8K

-50.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,013 Rp 18.2M

$2,870 ₱180.7K

-64.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$764 Rp 13.7M

$1,877 ₱118.2K

-59.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$199 Rp 3.6M

$336 ₱21.1K

-40.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

7.2

31.39%

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

Last update for Jambi: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jambi

$189 32.5%

Cebu

$210 22.9% 10.9% $21

Accommodation & Living

Jambi

$132 22.7%

Cebu

$305 33.3% 131% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Jambi

$94 16.1%

Cebu

$94 10.3% 0.4% $0.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jambi

$86 14.8%

Cebu

$160 17.5% 86.6% $74

Eating Out

Jambi

$57 9.8%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 54.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Jambi

$21 3.6%

Cebu

$43 4.7% 107% $22

Getting Around

Jambi

$3.5 * 0.6%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 328% $12

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 $221 in Jambi and $503 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 69% 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: $13.00 in Jambi vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $189 vs $210 per month, with Jambi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Jambi

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

01:46 1:46 AM

1 h ahead of Jambi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

750,857

964,169

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jambi Cebu 2,610 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Jambi
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

Jambi vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jambi is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 57% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Cebu. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $221 in Jambi versus $503 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $582 per month in Jambi versus $915 in Cebu – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Jambi gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Jambi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Jambi 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 Jambi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.