Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $918 in Cebu.

Medan $613
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Medan $940
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Medan $1,266
Cebu $1,900

Living in Medan costs roughly 33% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Medan 55% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$3.09 ₱194

-44.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$24.22 ₱1,525

-65.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$3.92 ₱247

-24.74%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$2.51 ₱158

-39.04%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$1.59 ₱100

-77.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$0.53 ₱33.43

-52.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$1.78 ₱112

-6.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$2.17 ₱137

65.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.92 ₱121

-42.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.36 ₱85.4

-13.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$1.01 ₱63.5

-19.80%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$2.03 ₱128

-34.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$9.86 ₱621

-17.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$4.39 ₱277

-18.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$7.60 ₱479

-16.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$3.30 ₱208

-27.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$1.39 ₱87.8

-24.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$2.33 ₱147

-39.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$1.50 ₱94.3

-38.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$2.36 ₱149

-64.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$1.90 ₱119

-5.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$1.19 ₱74.9

-68.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$0.63 ₱39.71

-30.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$3.00 ₱189

-4.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$6.03 ₱379

160.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$1.23 ₱77.7

48.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$1.75 ₱110

72.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$0.25 ₱15.86

8.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$12.64 ₱796

-53.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$0.77 ₱48.62

-33.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.23 ₱14.53

-17.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.31 ₱82.8

-38.93%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

16.13%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

68.25%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$120 ₱7,569

-29.44%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$14.00 ₱882

-77.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$27.54 ₱1,734

-14.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$32.33 ₱2,035

-47.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$6.65 ₱419

26.47%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$5.65 ₱356

-41.77%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$275 ₱17.3K

-59.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-78.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$49.33 ₱3,106

9.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$25.24 ₱1,589

52.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$77.0 ₱4,846

40.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$57.2 ₱3,601

93.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$500 ₱31.5K

-53.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$309 ₱19.4K

-70.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-54.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$615 ₱38.7K

-65.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-59.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-70.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$346 ₱21.8K

-37.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

7.2

28.47%

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

Last update for Medan: 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

Medan

$181 29.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 13.8% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 33% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 45% $50

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 244% $219

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 50.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 85.4% $20

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 83.8% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 61% 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: $8.00 in Medan vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $206 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

03:43 3:43 AM

04:43 4:43 AM

1 h ahead of Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,238 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medan Cebu 2,880 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Medan
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

Medan vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 50% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 61% 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: $233 in Medan versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $613 per month in Medan versus $918 in Cebu – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 113% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Medan gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Medan 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, Medan 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 Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.