Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sanaa and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,040 in Sanaa, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. The total is higher in Sanaa despite lower rent and utilities.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
Learn more

Sanaa Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,040

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,040 in Sanaa versus $934 in Cebu.

Sanaa $1,040
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,608 in Sanaa versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Sanaa $1,608
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,175 in Sanaa versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Sanaa $2,175
Cebu $1,896

Living in Sanaa is roughly 11% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sanaa 22% lower, Cebu 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.46 YER 1,524

$3.03 ₱190

113.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.31 YER 5,969

$23.48 ₱1,473

7.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.75 YER 2,300

$4.09 ₱256

138.39%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 YER 462

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 YER 611

Cappuccino

$3.82 YER 900

$2.52 ₱158

51.59%

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

$1.17 YER 277

$1.54 ₱96.9

-24.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 YER 141

$0.49 ₱30.98

22.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 YER 468

$1.95 ₱122

1.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 YER 387

$1.43 ₱89.7

14.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 YER 492

$1.02 ₱63.8

104.90%

Eggs

$3.57 YER 842

$2.06 ₱129

73.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.52 YER 4,131

$9.81 ₱615

78.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.41 YER 1,984

$4.61 ₱289

82.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 YER 4,504

$7.70 ₱483

148.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 YER 802

$3.31 ₱207

2.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 YER 249

$1.45 ₱90.9

-27.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.21 YER 521

$2.36 ₱148

-6.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 YER 393

$1.54 ₱96.4

8.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 YER 357

$2.36 ₱148

-36.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 YER 326

$1.99 ₱125

-30.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 YER 284

$1.15 ₱72.1

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 YER 160

$0.67 ₱42.15

1.49%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.48 YER 584

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 YER 423

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.66 YER 1,336

$3.00 ₱188

88.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 YER 102

$0.25 ₱15.78

72.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 YER 20.4K

$12.65 ₱793

582.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 YER 988

$0.74 ₱46.32

466.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 YER 494

$0.21 ₱13.11

900.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.22 YER 1,704

$4.33 ₱271

66.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 YER 486

$1.33 ₱83.5

54.89%

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

$16.9K YER 4.0M

$21.8K ₱1.4M

-22.37%

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

$34.6K YER 8.2M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

78.35%

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

$109 YER 25.6K

$121 ₱7,563

-9.85%

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

$23.35 YER 5,506

$14.45 ₱907

61.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$102 YER 24.0K

$28.29 ₱1,774

259.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.1 YER 15.8K

$32.68 ₱2,050

105.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.03 YER 3,779

$6.39 ₱401

150.86%

Cinema Ticket

$5.97 YER 1,407

$5.46 ₱342

9.34%

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

$118 YER 27.7K

$273 ₱17.1K

-57.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,130 YER 502.3K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

-73.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.48 YER 10.0K

$49.57 ₱3,109

-14.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$121 YER 28.5K

$24.87 ₱1,560

385.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.63 YER 11.2K

$76.6 ₱4,804

-37.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.69 YER 9,594

$59.3 ₱3,717

-31.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 YER 52.4K

$506 ₱31.7K

-56.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$94.7 YER 22.3K

$309 ₱19.4K

-69.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$408 YER 96.2K

$1,052 ₱66.0K

-61.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 YER 65.0K

$619 ₱38.8K

-55.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,240 YER 999.9K

$2,915 ₱182.9K

45.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$825 YER 194.6K

$1,867 ₱117.1K

-55.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$197 YER 46.4K

$341 ₱21.4K

-42.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

7.2

56.25%

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

Last update for Sanaa: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sanaa

$272 26.4%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 22.5% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sanaa

$234 22.7%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 30.1% $70

Eating Out

Sanaa

$134 13%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 34% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Sanaa

$113 11%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 16.4% $19

Getting Around

Sanaa

$103 10%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 85% $87

Accommodation & Living

Sanaa

$95 9.2%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 227% $215

Sport & Entertainment

Sanaa

$79 7.7%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 44.8% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $222 in Sanaa and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 73% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Sanaa vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

08:25 8:25 AM

13:25 1:25 PM

5 h ahead of Sanaa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,527,861 Capital

964,169

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sanaa Cebu 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sanaa
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

Sanaa vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Cebu. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $222 in Sanaa versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,040 per month in Sanaa versus $934 in Cebu – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 582% less than in Sanaa. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Cebu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sanaa, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sanaa 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 11% less than in Sanaa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.