Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southwark and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,473 in Southwark, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. The total is higher in Southwark despite lower rent and utilities.

72

Cost of Living Index in Southwark
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Southwark Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Southwark

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,473

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,473 in Southwark versus $918 in Cebu.

Southwark $1,473
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,277 in Southwark versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Southwark $4,277
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,080 in Southwark versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Southwark $7,080
Cebu $1,900

Living in Southwark is roughly 61% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Southwark is 9% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.89 £18.67

$3.09 ₱194

705.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.4 £73.8

$24.22 ₱1,525

306.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$3.92 ₱247

171.68%

Cappuccino

$5.71 £4.28

$2.51 ₱158

127.49%

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

$2.97 £2.22

$1.59 ₱100

86.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.87

$0.53 ₱33.43

371.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.43 £7.07

$1.78 ₱112

429.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.01 £6.01

$2.17 ₱137

269.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.92 ₱121

1.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.36 ₱85.4

50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.01 ₱63.5

107.92%

Eggs

$4.40 £3.30

$2.03 ₱128

116.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.64 £8.74

$9.86 ₱621

18.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.39 £7.04

$4.39 ₱277

113.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.91 £11.19

$7.60 ₱479

96.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$3.30 ₱208

-10.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.39 ₱87.8

-2.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.15

$2.33 ₱147

23.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.53

$1.50 ₱94.3

125.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$2.36 ₱149

-30.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.90 ₱119

-8.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.19 ₱74.9

9.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 £1.33

$0.63 ₱39.71

182.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.70 £17.78

$3.00 ₱189

690.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.87 £8.91

$6.03 ₱379

96.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.27

$1.23 ₱77.7

145.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$1.75 ₱110

84.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 £2.93

$0.25 ₱15.86

1460.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$159 £119

$12.64 ₱796

1159.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.77 ₱48.62

555.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$0.23 ₱14.53

1073.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.31 £29.49

$4.46 ₱281

781.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.31 ₱82.8

63.36%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

81.63%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

110.20%

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

$329 £247

$120 ₱7,569

173.75%

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

$17.85 £13.39

$14.00 ₱882

27.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.79 £30.60

$27.54 ₱1,734

48.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$17.69 £13.27

$5.65 ₱356

213.10%

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

$2,484 £1,864

$275 ₱17.3K

802.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.9K £22.4K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

277.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.9 £68.2

$49.33 ₱3,106

84.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 £34.63

$25.24 ₱1,589

82.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.1

$77.0 ₱4,846

33.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.2 £66.9

$57.2 ₱3,601

55.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,309 £1,732

$500 ₱31.5K

362.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,679 £4,260

$1,078 ₱67.9K

426.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,867 £2,901

$615 ₱38.7K

528.60%

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)

$4,165 £3,124

$346 ₱21.8K

1103.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

7.2

-28.89%

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

Last update for Southwark: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southwark

$388 26.3%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 58.3% $226

Eating Out

Southwark

$385 26.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 77% $296

Groceries & Markets

Southwark

$324 22%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 36.5% $118

Getting Around

Southwark

$193 13.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 92% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Southwark

$148 10.1%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 36.6% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Southwark

$35 * 2.4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 23.3% $8.3

Accommodation & Living

Southwark

- * 0%

Cebu

$309 33.6%

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 $2,309 in Southwark and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southwark pays 1104% 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: $98.0 in Southwark vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southwark

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

00:38 12:38 AM

07:38 7:38 AM

7 h ahead of Southwark

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,552

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 17, 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 17, 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

Southwark Cebu 11,310 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Southwark
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

Southwark vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 61% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1104% higher in Southwark, 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: $2,309 in Southwark versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,473 per month in Southwark versus $918 in Cebu – a 61% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 1160% less than in Southwark. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,473 in Southwark, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Southwark. 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 Southwark, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Southwark 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 61% less than in Southwark. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.