Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rethymno and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,345 in Rethymno, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Rethymno
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Rethymno Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Rethymno

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,345

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,345 in Rethymno versus $918 in Cebu.

Rethymno $1,345
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,021 in Rethymno versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Rethymno $2,021
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,697 in Rethymno versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Rethymno $2,697
Cebu $1,900

Living in Rethymno is roughly 46% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rethymno is 0% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.58 €11.19

$3.09 ₱194

307.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 €49.49

$24.22 ₱1,525

129.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.88 €8.79

$3.92 ₱247

152.04%

Cappuccino

$3.56 €3.17

$2.51 ₱158

41.83%

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

$1.65 €1.47

$1.59 ₱100

3.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$0.53 ₱33.43

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 €3.94

$1.78 ₱112

148.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.42 €4.82

$2.17 ₱137

149.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.92 ₱121

-20.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.36 ₱85.4

-7.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.01 ₱63.5

114.85%

Eggs

$4.55 €4.04

$2.03 ₱128

124.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.65 €13.03

$9.86 ₱621

48.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 €8.29

$4.39 ₱277

112.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.06 €13.40

$7.60 ₱479

98.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 €1.81

$3.30 ₱208

-38.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.02 €1.79

$1.39 ₱87.8

45.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 €1.08

$2.33 ₱147

-47.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.50 ₱94.3

17.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 €0.86

$2.36 ₱149

-58.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 €0.84

$1.90 ₱119

-50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.19 ₱74.9

-46.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.64

$0.63 ₱39.71

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 €3.88

$3.00 ₱189

45.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.58 €5.85

$6.03 ₱379

9.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.23 ₱77.7

43.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.75 ₱110

8.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.83 €1.63

$0.25 ₱15.86

632.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 €3.91

$0.77 ₱48.62

471.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.23 ₱14.53

373.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.32 €10.07

$4.46 ₱281

153.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.31 ₱82.8

71.76%

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

$22.4K €19.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

5.34%

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

$24.4K €21.7K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

27.51%

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

$193 €171

$120 ₱7,569

60.18%

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

$17.94 €15.96

$14.00 ₱882

28.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$27.54 ₱1,734

10.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 €53.6

$32.33 ₱2,035

86.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$8.50 €7.56

$5.65 ₱356

50.44%

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

$364 €324

$275 ₱17.3K

32.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,938 €3,503

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-50.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.6 €79.7

$49.33 ₱3,106

81.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$11.17 €9.94

$25.24 ₱1,589

-55.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.93 €39.96

$77.0 ₱4,846

-41.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$43.80 €38.96

$57.2 ₱3,601

-23.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$549 €489

$500 ₱31.5K

9.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 €392

$309 ₱19.4K

42.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$908 €808

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-15.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 €633

$615 ₱38.7K

15.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,079 €3,628

$2,886 ₱181.7K

41.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,948 €2,622

$1,917 ₱120.7K

53.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,222 €1,087

$346 ₱21.8K

253.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.3

7.2

-40.28%

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

Last update for Rethymno: 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

Rethymno

$441 32.8%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 30% $132

Groceries & Markets

Rethymno

$268 20%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 23.2% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rethymno

$241 17.9%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 32.8% $79

Eating Out

Rethymno

$215 16%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 58.9% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Rethymno

$85 6.3%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 10.1% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Rethymno

$77 5.7%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 43.5% $34

Getting Around

Rethymno

$17 * 1.3%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 9.3% $1.6

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 $549 in Rethymno and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rethymno pays 253% 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: $56.0 in Rethymno vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Rethymno

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

19:01 7:01 PM

00:01 12:01 AM

5 h ahead of Rethymno

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,763

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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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

Rethymno Cebu 10,190 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rethymno
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

Rethymno vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 253% higher in Rethymno, 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: $549 in Rethymno versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Rethymno. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,345 per month in Rethymno versus $918 in Cebu – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,345 in Rethymno, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Rethymno. 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 Rethymno, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Rethymno 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 46% less than in Rethymno. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.