Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Sebastian and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
Learn more

San Sebastian Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,948

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,948 in San Sebastian versus $918 in Cebu.

San Sebastian $1,948
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,889 in San Sebastian versus $1,409 in Cebu.

San Sebastian $2,889
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,830 in San Sebastian versus $1,900 in Cebu.

San Sebastian $3,830
Cebu $1,900

Living in San Sebastian is roughly 112% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Sebastian is 44% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.90

$3.09 ₱194

442.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 €53.9

$24.22 ₱1,525

150.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 €9.41

$3.92 ₱247

169.90%

Cappuccino

$2.08 €1.85

$2.51 ₱158

-17.13%

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

$2.87 €2.55

$1.59 ₱100

80.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$0.53 ₱33.43

205.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$1.78 ₱112

93.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 €3.22

$2.17 ₱137

66.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.92 ₱121

-41.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 €0.94

$1.36 ₱85.4

-22.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.01 ₱63.5

73.27%

Eggs

$3.72 €3.31

$2.03 ₱128

83.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.34 €19.87

$9.86 ₱621

126.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.17 €7.27

$4.39 ₱277

86.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 €18.77

$7.60 ₱479

177.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$3.30 ₱208

-23.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.39 ₱87.8

69.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 €2.97

$2.33 ₱147

43.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$1.50 ₱94.3

93.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.36 ₱149

-12.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.90 ₱119

4.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.19 ₱74.9

-0.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.54

$0.63 ₱39.71

-3.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$3.00 ₱189

102.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 €6.58

$6.03 ₱379

22.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.23 ₱77.7

-12.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.75 ₱110

4.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 €1.88

$0.25 ₱15.86

744.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.85 €30.11

$12.64 ₱796

167.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 €5.85

$0.77 ₱48.62

753.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 €0.81

$0.23 ₱14.53

295.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.70 €20.19

$4.46 ₱281

408.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.31 ₱82.8

29.77%

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

$36.2K €32.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

70.36%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

49.94%

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

$136 €121

$120 ₱7,569

13.43%

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

$20.40 €18.15

$14.00 ₱882

45.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.36 €31.45

$27.54 ₱1,734

28.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.41 €37.73

$32.33 ₱2,035

31.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 €17.75

$6.65 ₱419

200.00%

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 €7.50

$5.65 ₱356

49.38%

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

$453 €403

$275 ₱17.3K

64.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K €12.2K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

73.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$49.33 ₱3,106

46.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.46 €27.99

$25.24 ₱1,589

24.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.7 €66.5

$77.0 ₱4,846

-2.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$57.2 ₱3,601

133.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 €1,252

$500 ₱31.5K

181.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 €849

$309 ₱19.4K

208.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,239 €1,992

$1,078 ₱67.9K

107.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 €1,354

$615 ₱38.7K

147.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,603 €8,541

$2,886 ₱181.7K

232.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,748 €4,223

$1,917 ₱120.7K

147.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,027 €2,693

$346 ₱21.8K

775.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.92

7.2

-59.44%

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

Last update for San Sebastian: 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

San Sebastian

$954 49%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 67.6% $645

Groceries & Markets

San Sebastian

$316 16.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 34.8% $110

Eating Out

San Sebastian

$233 12%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 62.1% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Sebastian

$192 9.9%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 15.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

San Sebastian

$141 7.2%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 33.2% $47

Sport & Entertainment

San Sebastian

$59 3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 26.4% $16

Getting Around

San Sebastian

$53 2.7%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 70.8% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,407 in San Sebastian and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Sebastian pays 775% 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: $61.0 in San Sebastian vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

23:49 11:49 PM

05:49 5:49 AM

6 h ahead of San Sebastian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,743

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Sebastian Cebu 11,930 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

San Sebastian
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

San Sebastian vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 112% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 775% higher in San Sebastian, 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: $1,407 in San Sebastian versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,948 per month in San Sebastian versus $918 in Cebu – a 112% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 168% less than in San Sebastian. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,948 in San Sebastian, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in San Sebastian. 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 San Sebastian, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, San Sebastian 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 112% less than in San Sebastian. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.