Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Joao da Madeira and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Sao Joao da Madeira
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Sao Joao da Madeira Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Sao Joao da Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,510

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $918 in Cebu.

Sao Joao da Madeira $1,510
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,107 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Sao Joao da Madeira $2,107
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,704 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Sao Joao da Madeira $2,704
Cebu $1,900

Living in Sao Joao da Madeira is roughly 65% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Joao da Madeira is 12% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 €8.95

$3.09 ₱195

225.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.79 €17.60

$24.22 ₱1,525

-18.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.85 €6.98

$3.92 ₱247

100.26%

Cappuccino

$1.14 €1.01

$2.51 ₱158

-54.58%

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

$1.09 €0.97

$1.59 ₱100

-31.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$0.53 ₱33.45

83.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 €2.95

$1.78 ₱112

86.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 €0.75

$1.92 ₱121

-55.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.32 €0.28

$1.36 ₱85.5

-76.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.01 ₱63.6

12.87%

Eggs

$2.68 €2.39

$2.03 ₱128

32.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.58 €7.63

$9.86 ₱621

-12.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.52 €4.91

$4.39 ₱277

25.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.51 €5.79

$7.60 ₱479

-14.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$3.30 ₱208

-38.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.39 ₱87.8

-2.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$2.33 ₱147

-21.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.54

$1.50 ₱94.3

90.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.36 ₱149

-16.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.90 ₱119

-1.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.19 ₱74.9

4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 €0.87

$0.63 ₱39.73

55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.28 €5.59

$3.00 ₱189

109.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.53 €4.02

$6.03 ₱380

-24.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.07

$1.23 ₱77.7

-1.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.75 ₱110

-6.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €1.99

$0.25 ₱15.87

796.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.68 €35.29

$12.64 ₱796

213.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 €3.85

$0.77 ₱48.64

462.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 €1.58

$0.23 ₱14.54

673.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.67 €14.83

$4.46 ₱281

273.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.31 ₱82.8

45.04%

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

$33.1K €29.4K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

55.72%

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

$37.7K €33.5K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

96.69%

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

$110 €97.7

$120 ₱7,573

-8.66%

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

$16.96 €15.08

$14.00 ₱882

21.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.09 €40.99

$27.54 ₱1,735

67.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.59 €33.44

$32.33 ₱2,036

16.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.09 €13.42

$6.65 ₱419

126.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.44 €4.84

$5.65 ₱356

-3.72%

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

$341 €303

$275 ₱17.3K

23.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.0K €8,931

$7,918 ₱498.8K

26.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.5 €58.3

$49.33 ₱3,107

32.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.57 €33.42

$25.24 ₱1,590

48.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.7 €73.5

$77.0 ₱4,848

7.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.5 €87.6

$57.2 ₱3,603

72.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 €851

$500 ₱31.5K

91.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 €683

$309 ₱19.5K

148.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,517 €1,349

$1,078 ₱67.9K

40.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,164 €1,035

$615 ₱38.8K

89.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,957 €2,630

$2,886 ₱181.8K

2.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,267 €2,017

$1,917 ₱120.7K

18.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,048 €932

$346 ₱21.8K

202.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.55

7.2

-50.69%

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

Last update for Sao Joao da Madeira: 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

Sao Joao da Madeira

$768 50.8%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 59.8% $459

Groceries & Markets

Sao Joao da Madeira

$184 12.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 11.7% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Joao da Madeira

$173 11.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 6.4% $11

Eating Out

Sao Joao da Madeira

$147 9.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 39.9% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Joao da Madeira

$128 8.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 26.6% $34

Getting Around

Sao Joao da Madeira

$62 4.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 74.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Joao da Madeira

$48 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 10% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Sao Joao da Madeira and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Joao da Madeira pays 203% 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: $20.00 in Sao Joao da Madeira vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $206 per month, with Sao Joao da Madeira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Sao Joao da Madeira

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

22:30 10:30 PM

7 h ahead of Sao Joao da Madeira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,144

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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.82 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Joao da Madeira Cebu 12,520 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Joao da Madeira
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

Sao Joao da Madeira vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. The 65% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 203% higher in Sao Joao da Madeira, 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: $957 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,510 per month in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $918 in Cebu – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 214% less than in Sao Joao da Madeira. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Sao Joao da Madeira. 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 Sao Joao da Madeira, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sao Joao da Madeira 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 65% less than in Sao Joao da Madeira. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.