Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sari and Cebu

For one person, living costs are similar in Sari and in Cebu: $885 and $918 a month, rent and utilities included.

43

Cost of Living Index in Sari
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Sari Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Sari

🇮🇷 Iran

$885

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $885 in Sari versus $918 in Cebu.

Sari $885
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,092 in Sari versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Sari $1,092
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,299 in Sari versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Sari $1,299
Cebu $1,900

Living in Sari costs roughly 4% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sari 34% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.83 $3.83

$3.09 ₱194

23.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.96 $11.96

$24.22 ₱1,525

-50.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 $3.90

$3.92 ₱247

-0.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.73 $0.73

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 $0.85

Cappuccino

$1.29 $1.29

$2.51 ₱158

-48.61%

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

$0.48 $0.48

$1.59 ₱100

-69.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 $0.56

$0.53 ₱33.43

5.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.92 ₱121

-75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 $0.61

$1.36 ₱85.4

-55.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.30 $3.30

$1.01 ₱63.5

226.73%

Eggs

$1.23 $1.23

$2.03 ₱128

-39.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.55 $4.55

$9.86 ₱621

-53.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.39 $3.39

$4.39 ₱277

-22.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.16 $9.16

$7.60 ₱479

20.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.34 $1.34

$3.30 ₱208

-59.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 $1.88

$1.39 ₱87.8

35.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$2.33 ₱147

-48.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 $0.64

$1.50 ₱94.3

-57.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.54 $0.54

$2.36 ₱149

-77.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.90 ₱119

-73.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.19 ₱74.9

-54.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 $0.28

$0.63 ₱39.71

-55.56%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.78 $0.78

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 $2.16

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.44 $2.44

$3.00 ₱189

-18.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.88 $9.88

$12.64 ₱796

-21.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 $0.51

$0.77 ₱48.62

-33.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.23 ₱14.53

34.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 $3.08

$4.46 ₱281

-30.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.08 $0.08

$1.31 ₱82.8

-93.89%

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

$50.9K $50.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

139.59%

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

$44.8K $44.8K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

133.76%

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

$12.89 $12.89

$120 ₱7,569

-89.28%

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

$1.64 $1.64

$14.00 ₱882

-88.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.78 $3.78

$27.54 ₱1,734

-86.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 $50.8

$32.33 ₱2,035

57.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.17 $12.17

$6.65 ₱419

83.01%

Cinema Ticket

$0.97 $0.97

$5.65 ₱356

-82.83%

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

$50.8 $50.8

$275 ₱17.3K

-81.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$805 $805

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-89.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.52 $26.52

$49.33 ₱3,106

-46.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.07 $38.07

$25.24 ₱1,589

50.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 $116

$77.0 ₱4,846

50.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.6 $74.6

$57.2 ₱3,601

30.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$799 $799

$500 ₱31.5K

59.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$504 $504

$309 ₱19.4K

63.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$688 $688

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-36.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$404 $404

$615 ₱38.7K

-34.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$849 $849

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-70.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$516 $516

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-73.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$248 $248

$346 ₱21.8K

-28.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.79

7.2

244.31%

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

Last update for Sari: 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

Sari

$504 57%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 38.7% $195

Groceries & Markets

Sari

$121 13.7%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 70% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Sari

$115 13%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 18% $21

Eating Out

Sari

$62 7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 42.6% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Sari

$53 6%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 17.2% $9.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sari

$18 2.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 784% $143

Getting Around

Sari

$12 * 1.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 30.2% $3.6

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 $799 in Sari and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cebu pays 39% 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: $12.00 in Sari vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $121 vs $206 per month, with Sari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Sari

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:17 1:17 AM

05:47 5:47 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of Sari

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

300,000

964,169

💱 Currency

USD USD

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

PHP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sari Cebu 7,620 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sari
Cebu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Sari vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sari is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 4% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 39% 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: $799 in Sari versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $885 per month in Sari versus $918 in Cebu – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sari runs roughly 28% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $885 in Sari versus $918 in Cebu, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sari but tight or insufficient in Cebu. The gap between the two cities makes Sari the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Sari 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 Sari gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.