Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St Helens and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,993 in St Helens, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

97

Cost of Living Index in St Helens
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St Helens Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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St Helens

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,993

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,993 in St Helens versus $918 in Cebu.

St Helens $1,993
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,045 in St Helens versus $1,409 in Cebu.

St Helens $3,045
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,098 in St Helens versus $1,900 in Cebu.

St Helens $4,098
Cebu $1,900

Living in St Helens is roughly 117% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: St Helens is 48% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.90 £20.18

$3.09 ₱194

770.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £59.0

$24.22 ₱1,525

224.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.48 £7.86

$3.92 ₱247

167.35%

Cappuccino

$4.08 £3.06

$2.51 ₱158

62.55%

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

$2.37 £1.78

$1.59 ₱100

49.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.50

$0.53 ₱33.43

275.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.36 £4.02

$1.78 ₱112

201.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 £3.41

$2.17 ₱137

109.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.92 ₱121

-30.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.36 ₱85.4

30.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.01 ₱63.5

92.08%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.01

$2.03 ₱128

97.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$9.86 ₱621

-8.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.21

$4.39 ₱277

88.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.66 £7.99

$7.60 ₱479

40.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$3.30 ₱208

-1.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.39 ₱87.8

-6.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.33 ₱147

30.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.45 £2.59

$1.50 ₱94.3

130.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$2.36 ₱149

-51.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.90 ₱119

-3.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.19 ₱74.9

9.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.63 ₱39.71

106.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.59 £14.70

$3.00 ₱189

553.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 £7.47

$6.03 ₱379

65.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.14

$1.23 ₱77.7

132.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 £1.95

$1.75 ₱110

49.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.65 £1.99

$0.25 ₱15.86

960.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.1

$12.64 ₱796

691.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.37 £2.53

$0.77 ₱48.62

337.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$0.23 ₱14.53

800.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 £11.87

$4.46 ₱281

254.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.31 ₱82.8

48.09%

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

$26.4K £19.8K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

24.33%

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

$33.6K £25.2K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

75.70%

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

$365 £274

$120 ₱7,569

203.27%

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

$17.20 £12.91

$14.00 ₱882

22.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.87 £32.91

$27.54 ₱1,734

59.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.94 £20.21

$32.33 ₱2,035

-16.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.85 £2.89

$6.65 ₱419

-42.11%

Cinema Ticket

$13.42 £10.07

$5.65 ₱356

137.52%

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

$805 £604

$275 ₱17.3K

192.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,625 £4,971

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-16.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.0 £48.78

$49.33 ₱3,106

31.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 £29.32

$25.24 ₱1,589

54.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.3 £54.3

$77.0 ₱4,846

-6.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 £81.7

$57.2 ₱3,601

90.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 £598

$500 ₱31.5K

59.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 £477

$309 ₱19.4K

105.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 £1,128

$1,078 ₱67.9K

39.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 £943

$615 ₱38.7K

104.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,315 £2,487

$2,886 ₱181.7K

14.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,308 £1,731

$1,917 ₱120.7K

20.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,863 £1,398

$346 ₱21.8K

438.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

7.2

-27.64%

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

Last update for St Helens: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St Helens

$636 31.9%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 51.4% $327

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St Helens

$426 21.4%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 62% $264

Eating Out

St Helens

$349 17.5%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 74.7% $261

Groceries & Markets

St Helens

$276 13.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 25.4% $70

Clothing & Footwear

St Helens

$128 6.4%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 26.8% $34

Getting Around

St Helens

$124 6.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 87.5% $109

Sport & Entertainment

St Helens

$54 2.7%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 18.9% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $797 in St Helens and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St Helens pays 438% 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: $79.0 in St Helens 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

🇬🇧 St Helens

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

20:17 8:17 PM

7 h ahead of St Helens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,200

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 18, 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 18, 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

St Helens Cebu 11,330 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

St Helens
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

St Helens vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 117% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 438% higher in St Helens, 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: $797 in St Helens versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,993 per month in St Helens versus $918 in Cebu – a 117% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 692% less than in St Helens. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,993 in St Helens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in St Helens. 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 St Helens, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, St Helens 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 117% less than in St Helens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.