Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Marsa and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,870 in Marsa, rent and utilities included – about $23,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Marsa
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Marsa Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Marsa

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,870

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,870 in Marsa versus $918 in Cebu.

Marsa $2,870
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,982 in Marsa versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Marsa $3,982
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,094 in Marsa versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Marsa $5,094
Cebu $1,900

Living in Marsa is roughly 213% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Marsa is 113% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.80 €17.61

$3.09 ₱195

540.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.7 €76.2

$24.22 ₱1,525

253.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.34 €11.87

$3.92 ₱247

240.31%

Cappuccino

$2.69 €2.39

$2.51 ₱158

7.17%

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

$2.17 €1.93

$1.59 ₱100

36.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.53 ₱33.45

313.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.46 €3.96

$1.78 ₱112

150.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 €2.23

$2.17 ₱137

15.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.92 ₱121

-30.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.36 ₱85.5

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 €3.74

$1.01 ₱63.6

316.83%

Eggs

$4.30 €3.82

$2.03 ₱128

111.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.14 €7.24

$9.86 ₱621

-17.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.59 €9.42

$4.39 ₱277

141.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.25 €16.23

$7.60 ₱479

140.13%

Apples (1kg)

$4.28 €3.80

$3.30 ₱208

29.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 €2.52

$1.39 ₱87.8

104.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 €3.23

$2.33 ₱147

55.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 €3.03

$1.50 ₱94.3

127.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.41 €2.14

$2.36 ₱149

2.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.90 ₱119

6.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.39 €2.12

$1.19 ₱74.9

100.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.63 ₱39.73

104.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.91 €6.14

$3.00 ₱189

130.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.96 €7.08

$6.03 ₱380

32.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.23 ₱77.7

43.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.75 ₱110

40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.50 €4.89

$0.77 ₱48.64

614.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.30 €2.04

$0.23 ₱14.54

900.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.84 €23.87

$4.46 ₱281

501.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.31 ₱82.8

17.56%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

81.00%

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

$38.7K €34.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

101.91%

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

$103 €91.3

$120 ₱7,573

-14.61%

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

$25.31 €22.51

$14.00 ₱882

80.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 €38.36

$27.54 ₱1,735

56.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,036

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$9.94 €8.84

$5.65 ₱356

75.93%

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

$368 €327

$275 ₱17.3K

33.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.2K €9,953

$7,918 ₱498.8K

41.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 €78.2

$49.33 ₱3,107

78.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.78 €36.27

$25.24 ₱1,590

61.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 €87.2

$77.0 ₱4,848

27.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.7 €70.0

$57.2 ₱3,603

37.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,428 €2,160

$500 ₱31.5K

386.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,920 €1,707

$309 ₱19.5K

521.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,247 €1,999

$1,078 ₱67.9K

108.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,757 €2,452

$615 ₱38.8K

348.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,222 €2,866

$346 ₱21.8K

831.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

7.2

-59.72%

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

Last update for Marsa: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Marsa

$1.9K 66.9%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 83.9% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Marsa

$329 11.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 37.5% $123

Eating Out

Marsa

$275 9.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 68% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Marsa

$171 6%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 5.5% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Marsa

$137 4.8%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 31.7% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Marsa

$20 * 0.7%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 119% $24

Getting Around

Marsa

$17 * 0.6%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 8.3% $1.4

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 $2,428 in Marsa and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Marsa pays 831% 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: $86.0 in Marsa vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $329 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Marsa

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

15:57 3:57 PM

21:57 9:57 PM

6 h ahead of Marsa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Marsa Cebu 11,030 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Marsa
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

Marsa vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 213% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 831% higher in Marsa, 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: $2,428 in Marsa versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Marsa. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,870 per month in Marsa versus $918 in Cebu – a 213% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,870 in Marsa, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Marsa. 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 Marsa, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Marsa 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 213% less than in Marsa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.