Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Silves and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,629 in Silves, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Silves
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Silves Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Silves

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,629

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,629 in Silves versus $918 in Cebu.

Silves $1,629
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,393 in Silves versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Silves $2,393
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,157 in Silves versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Silves $3,157
Cebu $1,900

Living in Silves is roughly 77% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Silves is 21% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.54 €12.04

$3.09 ₱194

338.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.10 €41.90

$24.22 ₱1,525

94.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 €8.28

$3.92 ₱247

137.24%

Cappuccino

$1.92 €1.71

$2.51 ₱158

-23.51%

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

$1.93 €1.72

$1.59 ₱100

21.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.53 ₱33.43

173.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.78 ₱112

58.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.17 ₱137

57.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.92 ₱121

-42.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 €1.30

$1.36 ₱85.4

8.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.01 ₱63.5

55.45%

Eggs

$3.39 €3.02

$2.03 ₱128

67.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.90 €10.58

$9.86 ₱621

20.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.31 €6.50

$4.39 ₱277

66.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 €12.87

$7.60 ₱479

90.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$3.30 ₱208

-31.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.39 ₱87.8

-3.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$2.33 ₱147

-24.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.50 ₱94.3

71.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.36 ₱149

-22.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.90 ₱119

0.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.19 ₱74.9

26.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 €0.70

$0.63 ₱39.71

25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.98 €5.32

$3.00 ₱189

99.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

$6.03 ₱379

-25.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$1.23 ₱77.7

-0.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.75 ₱110

20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.25 ₱15.86

812.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.98 €37.35

$12.64 ₱796

232.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.80 €3.38

$0.77 ₱48.62

393.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.03

$0.23 ₱14.53

400.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.40 €16.36

$4.46 ₱281

312.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.31 ₱82.8

58.02%

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

$33.9K €30.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

59.65%

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

$34.0K €30.3K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

77.63%

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

$120 €106

$120 ₱7,569

-0.45%

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

$19.84 €17.65

$14.00 ₱882

41.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.39 €32.36

$27.54 ₱1,734

32.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.12 €35.69

$32.33 ₱2,035

24.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.69 €13.07

$6.65 ₱419

120.90%

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 €7.41

$5.65 ₱356

47.43%

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

$419 €372

$275 ₱17.3K

52.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

42.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.9 €70.2

$49.33 ₱3,106

59.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.89 €32.81

$25.24 ₱1,589

46.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.4 €75.1

$77.0 ₱4,846

9.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €93.0

$57.2 ₱3,601

82.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$944 €840

$500 ₱31.5K

88.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 €676

$309 ₱19.4K

146.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,546 €1,375

$1,078 ₱67.9K

43.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,194 €1,062

$615 ₱38.7K

94.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,242 €2,884

$2,886 ₱181.7K

12.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 €1,993

$1,917 ₱120.7K

16.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$948 €843

$346 ₱21.8K

174.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

7.2

-49.03%

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

Last update for Silves: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Silves

$761 46.7%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 59.4% $452

Groceries & Markets

Silves

$244 15%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 15.8% $39

Eating Out

Silves

$194 11.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 54.4% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Silves

$176 10.8%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 8% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Silves

$137 8.4%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 31.5% $43

Getting Around

Silves

$61 3.7%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 74.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Silves

$57 3.5%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 23.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $944 in Silves and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Silves pays 174% 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: $47.00 in Silves vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Silves

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

03:40 3:40 AM

10:40 10:40 AM

7 h ahead of Silves

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,776

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Silves Cebu 12,760 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Silves
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

Silves vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 77% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 174% higher in Silves, 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: $944 in Silves versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,629 per month in Silves versus $918 in Cebu – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 232% less than in Silves. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,629 in Silves, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Silves. 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 Silves, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Silves 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 77% less than in Silves. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.