Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,133 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,133 in Scarborough versus $918 in Cebu.

Scarborough $2,133
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,068 in Scarborough versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Scarborough $3,068
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,002 in Scarborough versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Scarborough $4,002
Cebu $1,900

Living in Scarborough is roughly 132% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Scarborough is 58% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 £11.07

$3.09 ₱194

377.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 £52.0

$24.22 ₱1,525

186.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$3.92 ₱247

197.96%

Cappuccino

$3.37 £2.53

$2.51 ₱158

34.26%

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

$2.08 £1.56

$1.59 ₱100

30.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 £0.74

$0.53 ₱33.43

86.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.76 £3.57

$1.78 ₱112

167.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.25

$2.17 ₱137

100.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.92 ₱121

-36.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.36 ₱85.4

-0.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 £0.81

$1.01 ₱63.5

5.94%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$2.03 ₱128

75.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.84

$9.86 ₱621

-21.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 £5.46

$4.39 ₱277

65.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 £10.57

$7.60 ₱479

85.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$3.30 ₱208

-2.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.39 ₱87.8

48.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.33 ₱147

13.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.50 ₱94.3

38.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$2.36 ₱149

-25.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.90 ₱119

-15.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.19 ₱74.9

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$0.63 ₱39.71

214.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £16.95

$3.00 ₱189

653.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.06 £6.80

$6.03 ₱379

50.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.67

$1.23 ₱77.7

188.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$1.75 ₱110

108.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$0.25 ₱15.86

1240.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 £65.3

$12.64 ₱796

588.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.09

$0.77 ₱48.62

607.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.23 ₱14.53

2095.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.92 £24.70

$4.46 ₱281

638.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.31 ₱82.8

48.09%

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

$35.7K £26.7K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

67.84%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

103.46%

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

$356 £267

$120 ₱7,569

195.89%

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

$25.73 £19.30

$14.00 ₱882

83.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 £25.02

$27.54 ₱1,734

21.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 £48.70

$32.33 ₱2,035

100.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.72 £9.54

$6.65 ₱419

91.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 £7.93

$5.65 ₱356

87.08%

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

$1,742 £1,307

$275 ₱17.3K

532.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.0K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

85.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.0

$49.33 ₱3,106

35.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 £26.59

$25.24 ₱1,589

40.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$77.0 ₱4,846

37.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.6

$57.2 ₱3,601

99.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$500 ₱31.5K

73.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 £632

$309 ₱19.4K

172.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 £1,152

$1,078 ₱67.9K

42.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 £999

$615 ₱38.7K

116.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 £686

$346 ₱21.8K

164.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

7.2

-23.19%

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

Last update for Scarborough: 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

Scarborough

$842 39.5%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 63.3% $533

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 61% $253

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 12.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 25.3% $70

Eating Out

Scarborough

$238 11.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 63% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$145 6.8%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 35.1% $51

Getting Around

Scarborough

$131 6.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 88.1% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$86 4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 49.3% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $867 in Scarborough and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays 164% 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: $69.0 in Scarborough vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

7 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 20, 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 20, 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

Scarborough Cebu 11,150 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 132% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 164% higher in Scarborough, 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: $867 in Scarborough versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,133 per month in Scarborough versus $918 in Cebu – a 132% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 588% less than in Scarborough. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,133 in Scarborough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. 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 Scarborough, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Scarborough 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 132% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.