Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,928 in Rabat, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Rabat

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,928

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,928 in Rabat versus $918 in Cebu.

Rabat $1,928
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,701 in Rabat versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Rabat $2,701
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Rabat versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Rabat $3,474
Cebu $1,900

Living in Rabat is roughly 110% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rabat is 43% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.72

$3.09 ₱194

435.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 €44.82

$24.22 ₱1,525

108.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.19 €9.96

$3.92 ₱247

185.46%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$2.51 ₱158

-10.36%

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

$2.48 €2.20

$1.59 ₱100

55.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$0.53 ₱33.43

218.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.97

$1.78 ₱112

87.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$2.17 ₱137

58.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.92 ₱121

-42.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.36 ₱85.4

-1.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.01 ₱63.5

123.76%

Eggs

$3.50 €3.11

$2.03 ₱128

72.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 €7.09

$9.86 ₱621

-19.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.87 €7.00

$4.39 ₱277

79.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 €11.13

$7.60 ₱479

64.61%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 €3.67

$3.30 ₱208

24.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.39 ₱87.8

56.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$2.33 ₱147

52.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.50 ₱94.3

47.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.36 ₱149

-51.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.90 ₱119

-40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.19 ₱74.9

-8.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.63 ₱39.71

73.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$3.00 ₱189

126.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$6.03 ₱379

36.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.23 ₱77.7

43.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.17

$1.75 ₱110

39.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.41

$0.25 ₱15.86

984.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.09

$0.77 ₱48.62

644.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$0.23 ₱14.53

860.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.77 €23.81

$4.46 ₱281

500.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.31 ₱82.8

15.27%

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

$37.7K €33.6K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

77.70%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

101.68%

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

$101 €90.2

$120 ₱7,569

-15.66%

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

$12.17 €10.82

$14.00 ₱882

-13.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.85 €38.12

$27.54 ₱1,734

55.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.1 €55.3

$32.33 ₱2,035

92.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.18 €19.73

$6.65 ₱419

233.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €8.98

$5.65 ₱356

78.58%

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

$369 €328

$275 ₱17.3K

34.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

42.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.7

$49.33 ₱3,106

74.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.60 €24.55

$25.24 ₱1,589

9.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 €65.6

$77.0 ₱4,846

-4.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 €68.3

$57.2 ₱3,601

34.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €934

$500 ₱31.5K

110.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$309 ₱19.4K

239.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,735 €1,543

$1,078 ₱67.9K

60.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 €1,299

$615 ₱38.7K

137.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,396 €3,910

$2,886 ₱181.7K

52.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,149 €2,801

$1,917 ₱120.7K

64.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,318 €1,173

$346 ₱21.8K

281.06%

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 Rabat: 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

Rabat

$1K 54.4%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 70.6% $740

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$261 13.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 21% $55

Eating Out

Rabat

$233 12.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 62.1% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$156 8.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 3.4% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$119 6.2%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 21% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$82 4.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 47% $39

Getting Around

Rabat

$28 * 1.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 43.6% $12

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 $1,051 in Rabat and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rabat pays 281% 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: $50.0 in Rabat vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Rabat

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

17:01 5:01 PM

23:01 11:01 PM

6 h ahead of Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,497

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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rabat Cebu 11,040 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
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

Rabat vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 110% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 281% higher in Rabat, 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: $1,051 in Rabat versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Rabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,928 per month in Rabat versus $918 in Cebu – a 110% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,928 in Rabat, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Rabat. 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 Rabat, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Rabat 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 110% less than in Rabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.