Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,210 in Stafford, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Stafford versus $934 in Cebu.

Stafford $2,210
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,285 in Stafford versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Stafford $3,285
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,361 in Stafford versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Stafford $4,361
Cebu $1,896

Living in Stafford is roughly 137% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Stafford is 65% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.20 £15.26

$3.03 ₱190

566.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.3 £54.6

$23.48 ₱1,473

207.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 £8.03

$4.09 ₱256

159.90%

Cappuccino

$4.50 £3.40

$2.52 ₱158

78.57%

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

$2.10 £1.59

$1.54 ₱96.9

36.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.29

$0.49 ₱30.98

248.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.12

$1.79 ₱112

278.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 £4.06

$2.26 ₱142

137.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.95 ₱122

-10.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.43 ₱89.7

4.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.02 ₱63.8

100.98%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.65

$2.06 ₱129

70.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 £7.66

$9.81 ₱615

3.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 £6.81

$4.61 ₱289

95.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.65 £9.56

$7.70 ₱483

64.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$3.31 ₱207

-12.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.45 ₱90.9

15.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 £2.81

$2.36 ₱148

57.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$1.54 ₱96.4

130.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$2.36 ₱148

-15.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.99 ₱125

-10.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.89

$1.15 ₱72.1

1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$0.67 ₱42.15

146.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.98 £15.85

$3.00 ₱188

599.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 £6.90

$6.35 ₱398

43.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 £2.54

$1.31 ₱81.9

156.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 £2.89

$1.73 ₱108

121.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 £3.60

$0.25 ₱15.78

1804.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.7 £70.8

$12.65 ₱793

640.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 £1.98

$0.74 ₱46.32

252.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 £1.01

$0.21 ₱13.11

538.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.91 £18.82

$4.33 ₱271

475.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.33 ₱83.5

61.65%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

74.17%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

111.10%

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

$291 £220

$121 ₱7,563

141.60%

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

$19.35 £14.62

$14.45 ₱907

33.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.69 £31.51

$28.29 ₱1,774

47.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.25 £30.42

$32.68 ₱2,050

23.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.84 £14.23

$6.39 ₱401

194.84%

Cinema Ticket

$15.84 £11.97

$5.46 ₱342

190.11%

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

$926 £700

$273 ₱17.1K

238.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.9K £20.4K

$8,156 ₱511.5K

230.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.9 £55.8

$49.57 ₱3,109

49.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £34.99

$24.87 ₱1,560

86.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.5 £63.1

$76.6 ₱4,804

8.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 £74.6

$59.3 ₱3,717

66.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £857

$506 ₱31.7K

124.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £709

$309 ₱19.4K

203.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,206

$1,052 ₱66.0K

51.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,212

$619 ₱38.8K

159.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,938 £2,976

$2,915 ₱182.9K

35.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,404 £2,572

$1,867 ₱117.1K

82.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,016 £2,279

$341 ₱21.4K

784.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

7.2

-25.42%

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

Last update for Stafford: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stafford

$938 42.1%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 67% $629

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$352 15.8%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 53.6% $189

Eating Out

Stafford

$307 13.8%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 71.2% $219

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$302 13.6%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 30.4% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$136 6.1%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 30.4% $41

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.5%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 87.4% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 39.4% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,134 in Stafford and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stafford pays 784% 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: $72.0 in Stafford vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

08:28 8:28 AM

7 h ahead of Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

964,169

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stafford Cebu 11,340 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

Stafford vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 137% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 784% higher in Stafford, 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: $1,134 in Stafford versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,210 per month in Stafford versus $934 in Cebu – a 137% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 641% less than in Stafford. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,210 in Stafford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Stafford. 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 Stafford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Stafford 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 137% less than in Stafford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.