Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madaba and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Madaba: $765 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

37

Cost of Living Index in Madaba
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Madaba Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Madaba

🇯🇴 Jordan

$765

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $765 in Madaba versus $918 in Cebu.

Madaba $765
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,349 in Madaba versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Madaba $1,349
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,932 in Madaba versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Madaba $1,932
Cebu $1,900

Living in Madaba costs roughly 17% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Madaba 43% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.54 JOD 3.92

$3.09 ₱194

79.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.14 JOD 34.79

$24.22 ₱1,525

102.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.44 JOD 4.56

$3.92 ₱247

64.29%

Cappuccino

$3.56 JOD 2.52

$2.51 ₱158

41.83%

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

$0.61 JOD 0.43

$1.59 ₱100

-61.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 JOD 0.43

$0.53 ₱33.43

15.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.36 JOD 3.08

$1.78 ₱112

144.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.85 JOD 4.85

$2.17 ₱137

215.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 JOD 0.99

$1.92 ₱121

-27.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 JOD 0.47

$1.36 ₱85.4

-51.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 JOD 1.11

$1.01 ₱63.5

55.45%

Eggs

$1.72 JOD 1.22

$2.03 ₱128

-15.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 JOD 3.06

$9.86 ₱621

-56.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.56 JOD 3.94

$4.39 ₱277

26.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.75 JOD 9.02

$7.60 ₱479

67.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 JOD 1.88

$3.30 ₱208

-19.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 JOD 1.02

$1.39 ₱87.8

3.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 JOD 1.26

$2.33 ₱147

-23.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.73 JOD 0.52

$1.50 ₱94.3

-51.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 JOD 0.51

$2.36 ₱149

-69.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 JOD 0.49

$1.90 ₱119

-63.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 JOD 0.24

$1.19 ₱74.9

-71.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 JOD 0.39

$0.63 ₱39.71

-12.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.13 JOD 1.51

$3.00 ₱189

-29.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.90 JOD 14.80

$6.03 ₱379

246.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.86 JOD 3.44

$1.23 ₱77.7

295.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 JOD 3.56

$1.75 ₱110

187.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 JOD 0.62

$0.25 ₱15.86

252.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.6 JOD 50.7

$12.64 ₱796

466.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 JOD 0.41

$0.77 ₱48.62

-24.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.39 JOD 0.98

$0.23 ₱14.53

504.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.16 JOD 5.07

$4.46 ₱281

60.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 JOD 1.02

$1.31 ₱82.8

9.16%

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

$35.4K JOD 25.1K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

66.83%

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

$34.9K JOD 24.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

82.28%

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

$69.2 JOD 49.02

$120 ₱7,569

-42.41%

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

$13.83 JOD 9.79

$14.00 ₱882

-1.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.89 JOD 14.79

$27.54 ₱1,734

-24.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.60 JOD 20.25

$32.33 ₱2,035

-11.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$69.2 JOD 49.02

$6.65 ₱419

941.20%

Cinema Ticket

$11.25 JOD 7.97

$5.65 ₱356

99.12%

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

$41.99 JOD 29.73

$275 ₱17.3K

-84.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,676 JOD 6,851

$7,918 ₱498.5K

22.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.2 JOD 44.72

$49.33 ₱3,106

28.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.0 JOD 40.32

$25.24 ₱1,589

125.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.9 JOD 49.48

$77.0 ₱4,846

-9.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.11 JOD 30.52

$57.2 ₱3,601

-24.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 JOD 149

$500 ₱31.5K

-57.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$42.56 JOD 30.13

$309 ₱19.4K

-86.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$419 JOD 297

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-61.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$210 JOD 149

$615 ₱38.7K

-65.85%

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)

$495 JOD 351

$346 ₱21.8K

43.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.81

7.2

-5.42%

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

Last update for Madaba: 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

Madaba

$233 30.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 11.7% $27

Eating Out

Madaba

$147 19.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 39.8% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Madaba

$105 13.7%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 10.5% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madaba

$104 13.6%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 55.6% $58

Getting Around

Madaba

$83 10.8%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 81.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Madaba

$51 6.7%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 14.7% $7.5

Accommodation & Living

Madaba

$43 5.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 626% $266

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $210 in Madaba and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Madaba pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Madaba vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇴 Madaba

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:25 1:25 AM

06:25 6:25 AM

5 h ahead of Madaba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,000

964,169

💱 Currency

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to JOD – Jordanian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇴 Jordanian Dinar (د.ا)

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 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 JOD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Madaba Cebu 9,230 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Madaba
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

Madaba vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madaba is cheaper overall, especially in utilities. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 43% higher in Madaba, 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: $210 in Madaba versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $765 per month in Madaba versus $918 in Cebu – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Madaba runs roughly 467% 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 Madaba gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Madaba 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, Madaba 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 Madaba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.