Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romford and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,677 in Romford, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Romford
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Romford Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Romford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,677

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,677 in Romford versus $918 in Cebu.

Romford $2,677
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,098 in Romford versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Romford $4,098
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,519 in Romford versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Romford $5,519
Cebu $1,900

Living in Romford is roughly 192% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Romford is 98% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.61 £18.46

$3.09 ₱194

696.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.1

$24.22 ₱1,525

329.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 £8.04

$3.92 ₱247

173.47%

Cappuccino

$4.81 £3.61

$2.51 ₱158

91.63%

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

$2.70 £2.03

$1.59 ₱100

69.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.53 ₱33.43

245.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 £5.92

$1.78 ₱112

343.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.71 £5.04

$2.17 ₱137

209.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.39

$1.92 ₱121

-3.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.36 ₱85.4

30.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.88

$1.01 ₱63.5

148.51%

Eggs

$4.80 £3.60

$2.03 ₱128

136.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.71 £7.28

$9.86 ₱621

-1.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.05

$4.39 ₱277

114.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.59 £11.70

$7.60 ₱479

105.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$3.30 ₱208

-11.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.39 ₱87.8

2.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.33 ₱147

40.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.55

$1.50 ₱94.3

126.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$2.36 ₱149

-30.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.90 ₱119

-2.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.19 ₱74.9

4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.63 ₱39.71

185.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.58 £17.69

$3.00 ₱189

686.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.10 £9.83

$6.03 ₱379

117.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$1.23 ₱77.7

149.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 £2.99

$1.75 ₱110

127.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 £3.50

$0.25 ₱15.86

1764.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.8 £73.4

$12.64 ₱796

673.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.63 £4.23

$0.77 ₱48.62

631.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 £1.96

$0.23 ₱14.53

1034.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.16 £19.62

$4.46 ₱281

486.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.61

$1.31 ₱82.8

63.36%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

76.92%

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

$39.8K £29.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

107.72%

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

$373 £280

$120 ₱7,569

210.31%

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

$18.24 £13.69

$14.00 ₱882

30.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.81 £32.12

$27.54 ₱1,734

55.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.13 £36.86

$32.33 ₱2,035

51.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$16.88 £12.66

$5.65 ₱356

198.76%

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

$2,585 £1,939

$275 ₱17.3K

838.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.8K £26.9K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

352.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.2 £67.6

$49.33 ₱3,106

82.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.63 £35.74

$25.24 ₱1,589

88.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.8 £68.8

$77.0 ₱4,846

19.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £97.0

$57.2 ₱3,601

126.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,836 £1,377

$500 ₱31.5K

267.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 £885

$309 ₱19.4K

281.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,351 £2,514

$1,078 ₱67.9K

210.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,266 £1,700

$615 ₱38.7K

268.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,082 £3,813

$2,886 ₱181.7K

76.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,905 £2,929

$1,917 ₱120.7K

103.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,799 £2,100

$346 ₱21.8K

709.02%

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 Romford: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Romford

$1.2K 44%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 73.8% $871

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Romford

$434 16.2%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 62.7% $272

Eating Out

Romford

$358 13.4%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 75.3% $270

Groceries & Markets

Romford

$327 12.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 37% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Romford

$162 6%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 41.8% $68

Getting Around

Romford

$135 5.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 88.5% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Romford

$83 3.1%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 47.4% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,836 in Romford and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Romford pays 709% 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: $104 in Romford vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Romford

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

13:47 1:47 PM

7 h ahead of Romford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,894

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 18, 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 18, 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

Romford Cebu 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Romford
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

Romford vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 192% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 709% higher in Romford, 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: $1,836 in Romford versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,677 per month in Romford versus $918 in Cebu – a 192% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 674% less than in Romford. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,677 in Romford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Romford. 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 Romford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Romford 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 192% less than in Romford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.