Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Motherwell and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,285 in Motherwell, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Motherwell
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Motherwell Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Motherwell

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,285 in Motherwell versus $918 in Cebu.

Motherwell $2,285
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,349 in Motherwell versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Motherwell $3,349
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,414 in Motherwell versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Motherwell $4,414
Cebu $1,900

Living in Motherwell is roughly 149% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Motherwell is 69% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.07 £15.06

$3.09 ₱194

549.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.0 £55.5

$24.22 ₱1,525

205.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.64 £7.98

$3.92 ₱247

171.43%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$2.51 ₱158

86.85%

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

$2.15 £1.61

$1.59 ₱100

35.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.32

$0.53 ₱33.43

232.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.41 £4.06

$1.78 ₱112

203.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 £5.00

$2.17 ₱137

207.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.92 ₱121

-23.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.36 ₱85.4

19.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 £1.64

$1.01 ₱63.5

116.83%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$2.03 ₱128

87.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 £6.86

$9.86 ₱621

-7.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.13 £6.85

$4.39 ₱277

107.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.65 £12.49

$7.60 ₱479

119.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.11

$3.30 ₱208

-14.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.39 ₱87.8

9.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.33 ₱147

23.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.37

$1.50 ₱94.3

110.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$2.36 ₱149

-16.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.90 ₱119

-25.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.19 ₱74.9

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.63 ₱39.71

147.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.95 £15.71

$3.00 ₱189

598.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.45 £7.84

$6.03 ₱379

73.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.23 ₱77.7

154.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 £2.56

$1.75 ₱110

94.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$0.25 ₱15.86

1296.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.5 £73.1

$12.64 ₱796

671.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 £4.49

$0.77 ₱48.62

676.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.86

$0.23 ₱14.53

395.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.19 £21.15

$4.46 ₱281

532.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.31 ₱82.8

59.54%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

81.16%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

108.54%

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

$241 £181

$120 ₱7,569

100.37%

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

$19.77 £14.83

$14.00 ₱882

41.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.45 £31.10

$27.54 ₱1,734

50.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.34 £34.77

$32.33 ₱2,035

43.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 £4.99

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$12.06 £9.05

$5.65 ₱356

113.45%

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

$910 £683

$275 ₱17.3K

230.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.2K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

122.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.7

$49.33 ₱3,106

137.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.37 £36.29

$25.24 ₱1,589

91.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.7

$77.0 ₱4,846

34.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 £67.6

$57.2 ₱3,601

57.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 £914

$500 ₱31.5K

143.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 £765

$309 ₱19.4K

230.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,124 £1,593

$1,078 ₱67.9K

97.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,643 £1,233

$615 ₱38.7K

167.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,030 £3,774

$2,886 ₱181.7K

74.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,920 £2,941

$1,917 ₱120.7K

104.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-30.56%

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

Last update for Motherwell: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Motherwell

$1K 44.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 69.7% $710

Eating Out

Motherwell

$305 13.3%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 71% $217

Groceries & Markets

Motherwell

$304 13.3%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 32.3% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Motherwell

$302 13.2%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 46.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Motherwell

$162 7.1%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 41.9% $68

Getting Around

Motherwell

$123 5.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 87.4% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Motherwell

$70 3.1%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 38.1% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,218 in Motherwell and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $74.0 in Motherwell vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $304 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Motherwell

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

01:36 1:36 AM

7 h ahead of Motherwell

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,120

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Motherwell Cebu 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Motherwell
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

Motherwell vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 149% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,428 in Motherwell and $1,377 in Cebu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,218 in Motherwell versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,285 per month in Motherwell versus $918 in Cebu – a 149% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 671% less than in Motherwell. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,285 in Motherwell, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Motherwell. 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 Motherwell, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Motherwell 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 149% less than in Motherwell. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.