Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oban and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,110 in Oban, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Oban
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Oban Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Oban

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,110

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,110 in Oban versus $918 in Cebu.

Oban $2,110
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,122 in Oban versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Oban $3,122
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,134 in Oban versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Oban $4,134
Cebu $1,900

Living in Oban is roughly 130% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Oban is 56% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.10 £12.08

$3.09 ₱194

421.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 £64.9

$24.22 ₱1,525

256.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.48 £7.11

$3.92 ₱247

141.84%

Cappuccino

$4.82 £3.62

$2.51 ₱158

92.03%

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

$2.13 £1.60

$1.59 ₱100

33.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.57

$0.53 ₱33.43

296.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 £4.42

$1.78 ₱112

230.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 £3.66

$2.17 ₱137

124.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.92 ₱121

-19.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.36 ₱85.4

30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.01 ₱63.5

100.00%

Eggs

$4.31 £3.23

$2.03 ₱128

112.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.89 £6.67

$9.86 ₱621

-9.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.01 £9.01

$4.39 ₱277

173.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.56 £12.43

$7.60 ₱479

117.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 £2.12

$3.30 ₱208

-14.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.39 ₱87.8

-4.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$2.33 ₱147

15.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 £2.79

$1.50 ₱94.3

148.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$2.36 ₱149

-28.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.90 ₱119

-24.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.19 ₱74.9

5.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.63 ₱39.71

166.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.81 £16.36

$3.00 ₱189

627.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.93 £8.20

$6.03 ₱379

81.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.23 ₱77.7

113.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.20

$1.75 ₱110

67.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.25 ₱15.86

1244.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £77.2

$12.64 ₱796

713.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.04 £3.03

$0.77 ₱48.62

424.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.40 £1.80

$0.23 ₱14.53

943.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.71 £17.78

$4.46 ₱281

431.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.31 ₱82.8

54.96%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

81.75%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

107.93%

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

$332 £249

$120 ₱7,569

175.81%

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

$27.87 £20.91

$14.00 ₱882

99.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.49 £31.88

$27.54 ₱1,734

54.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.14 £33.86

$32.33 ₱2,035

39.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.45 £4.84

$6.65 ₱419

-3.01%

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 £8.50

$5.65 ₱356

100.71%

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

$1,759 £1,320

$275 ₱17.3K

538.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.6K £16.9K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

184.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.0 £73.5

$49.33 ₱3,106

98.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.44 £35.59

$25.24 ₱1,589

87.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.0

$77.0 ₱4,846

35.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 £83.8

$57.2 ₱3,601

95.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,222 £917

$500 ₱31.5K

144.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$753 £565

$309 ₱19.4K

143.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,088 £1,566

$1,078 ₱67.9K

93.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,212 £909

$615 ₱38.7K

97.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,924 £3,694

$2,886 ₱181.7K

70.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,862 £2,897

$1,917 ₱120.7K

101.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,983 £2,238

$346 ₱21.8K

762.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

7.2

-29.03%

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

Last update for Oban: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oban

$753 35.7%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 59% $445

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oban

$402 19.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 59.8% $240

Groceries & Markets

Oban

$320 15.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 35.8% $115

Eating Out

Oban

$271 12.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 67.4% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Oban

$162 7.7%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 42.2% $69

Getting Around

Oban

$132 6.3%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 88.2% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Oban

$68 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 35.7% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,222 in Oban and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oban pays 762% 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 Oban vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oban

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

19:46 7:46 PM

02:46 2:46 AM

7 h ahead of Oban

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,500

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Oban Cebu 11,270 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Oban
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

Oban vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 130% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 762% higher in Oban, 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: $1,222 in Oban versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,110 per month in Oban versus $918 in Cebu – a 130% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 714% less than in Oban. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,110 in Oban, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Oban. 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 Oban, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Oban 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 130% less than in Oban. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.