Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kisumu and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kisumu: $643 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Kisumu
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Kisumu Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Kisumu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$643

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $643 in Kisumu versus $918 in Cebu.

Kisumu $643
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $972 in Kisumu versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Kisumu $972
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,302 in Kisumu versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Kisumu $1,302
Cebu $1,900

Living in Kisumu costs roughly 30% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kisumu 52% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.67 KES 606

$3.09 ₱194

51.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.63 KES 3,193

$24.22 ₱1,525

1.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.54 KES 848

$3.92 ₱247

66.84%

Cappuccino

$2.63 KES 342

$2.51 ₱158

4.78%

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

$0.67 KES 86.8

$1.59 ₱100

-57.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 KES 72.9

$0.53 ₱33.43

5.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 KES 254

$1.78 ₱112

10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 KES 353

$2.17 ₱137

25.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.56 KES 72.1

$1.92 ₱121

-70.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 KES 67.0

$1.36 ₱85.4

-61.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 KES 245

$1.01 ₱63.5

87.13%

Eggs

$1.64 KES 212

$2.03 ₱128

-19.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 KES 1,388

$9.86 ₱621

8.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.28 KES 814

$4.39 ₱277

43.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.06 KES 656

$7.60 ₱479

-33.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 KES 437

$3.30 ₱208

2.12%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 KES 115

$1.39 ₱87.8

-35.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 KES 257

$2.33 ₱147

-15.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.11 KES 144

$1.50 ₱94.3

-26.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 KES 139

$2.36 ₱149

-54.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 KES 117

$1.90 ₱119

-52.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 KES 89.4

$1.19 ₱74.9

-42.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 KES 95.6

$0.63 ₱39.71

17.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 KES 395

$3.00 ₱189

1.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 KES 1,024

$6.03 ₱379

31.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 KES 298

$1.23 ₱77.7

86.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 KES 306

$1.75 ₱110

34.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 KES 96.3

$0.25 ₱15.86

196.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.05 KES 2,989

$12.64 ₱796

82.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 KES 204

$0.77 ₱48.62

103.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 KES 195

$0.23 ₱14.53

552.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 KES 365

$4.46 ₱281

-36.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 KES 210

$1.31 ₱82.8

23.66%

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

$21.5K KES 2.8M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

1.18%

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

$20.6K KES 2.7M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

7.45%

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

$54.9 KES 7,119

$120 ₱7,569

-54.33%

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

$15.40 KES 1,997

$14.00 ₱882

10.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.59 KES 4,614

$27.54 ₱1,734

29.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.87 KES 2,965

$32.33 ₱2,035

-29.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$7.70 KES 998

$5.65 ₱356

36.28%

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

$115 KES 14.9K

$275 ₱17.3K

-58.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K KES 1.6M

$7,918 ₱498.5K

54.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.41 KES 1,479

$49.33 ₱3,106

-76.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.63 KES 2,545

$25.24 ₱1,589

-22.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$15.49 KES 2,008

$77.0 ₱4,846

-79.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.27 KES 1,979

$57.2 ₱3,601

-73.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 KES 19.6K

$500 ₱31.5K

-69.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 KES 18.0K

$309 ₱19.4K

-55.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$560 KES 72.6K

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-48.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 KES 27.4K

$615 ₱38.7K

-65.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$765 KES 99.2K

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-73.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$779 KES 101.0K

$346 ₱21.8K

125.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

7.2

104.31%

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

Last update for Kisumu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kisumu

$188 29.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 9.6% $18

Accommodation & Living

Kisumu

$139 21.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 122% $170

Eating Out

Kisumu

$109 16.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 18.9% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kisumu

$106 16.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 52.8% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Kisumu

$38 6%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 14% $5.4

Getting Around

Kisumu

$35 5.5%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 55.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Kisumu

$28 4.3%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 238% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $151 in Kisumu and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kisumu pays 125% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Kisumu vs $24.00 in Cebu. Groceries flip the comparison at $188 vs $206, with Kisumu cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Kisumu

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

16:27 4:27 PM

21:27 9:27 PM

5 h ahead of Kisumu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,155,574

964,169

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 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 KES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kisumu Cebu 9,920 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kisumu
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

Kisumu vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kisumu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. The 43% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 125% higher in Kisumu, 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: $151 in Kisumu versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $643 per month in Kisumu versus $918 in Cebu – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kisumu runs roughly 82% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Kisumu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Kisumu 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, Kisumu 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 Kisumu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.