Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stilbaai and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,148 in Stilbaai, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Stilbaai
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Stilbaai Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Stilbaai

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,148

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,148 in Stilbaai versus $918 in Cebu.

Stilbaai $1,148
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,832 in Stilbaai versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Stilbaai $1,832
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,516 in Stilbaai versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Stilbaai $2,516
Cebu $1,900

Living in Stilbaai is roughly 25% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Stilbaai 15% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.91 R 196

$3.09 ₱194

285.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.22 R 761

$24.22 ₱1,525

90.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.10 R 100

$3.92 ₱247

55.61%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R 39.28

$2.51 ₱158

-5.18%

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

$1.26 R 20.84

$1.59 ₱100

-20.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 R 15.77

$0.53 ₱33.43

81.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.95 R 48.65

$1.78 ₱112

65.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 R 59.1

$2.17 ₱137

64.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 R 22.74

$1.92 ₱121

-28.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 R 20.69

$1.36 ₱85.4

-7.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.30

$1.01 ₱63.5

117.82%

Eggs

$2.97 R 48.89

$2.03 ₱128

46.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.94 R 147

$9.86 ₱621

-9.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 R 114

$4.39 ₱277

58.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.58 R 158

$7.60 ₱479

26.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.62

$3.30 ₱208

-41.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 R 32.00

$1.39 ₱87.8

39.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.23

$2.33 ₱147

-29.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 R 35.11

$1.50 ₱94.3

42.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.57

$2.36 ₱149

-34.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.20

$1.90 ₱119

-22.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.04

$1.19 ₱74.9

7.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R 19.49

$0.63 ₱39.71

87.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.56 R 58.7

$3.00 ₱189

18.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.97 R 98.4

$6.03 ₱379

-1.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 R 21.71

$1.23 ₱77.7

7.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 R 35.46

$1.75 ₱110

22.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 R 24.38

$0.25 ₱15.86

492.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.68

$0.77 ₱48.62

-23.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.16

$0.23 ₱14.53

565.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 R 83.6

$4.46 ₱281

13.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 R 25.00

$1.31 ₱82.8

16.03%

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

$35.0K R 577.0K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

64.85%

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

$31.2K R 513.6K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

62.81%

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

$114 R 1,883

$120 ₱7,569

-4.94%

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

$28.76 R 474

$14.00 ₱882

105.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.29 R 647

$27.54 ₱1,734

42.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.60 R 521

$32.33 ₱2,035

-2.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.58 R 174

$6.65 ₱419

59.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 145

$5.65 ₱356

56.28%

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

$267 R 4,405

$275 ₱17.3K

-2.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,885 R 113.4K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-13.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.3 R 928

$49.33 ₱3,106

14.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.76 R 540

$25.24 ₱1,589

29.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,981

$77.0 ₱4,846

56.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 R 1,726

$57.2 ₱3,601

83.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 R 6,374

$500 ₱31.5K

-22.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 R 5,973

$309 ₱19.4K

17.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$739 R 12.2K

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-31.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$742 R 12.2K

$615 ₱38.7K

20.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$864 R 14.2K

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-70.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$663 R 10.9K

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-65.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.2

52.36%

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

Last update for Stilbaai: 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

Stilbaai

$363 31.6%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 14.8% $54

Groceries & Markets

Stilbaai

$226 19.6%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 8.7% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stilbaai

$182 15.9%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 11.3% $21

Eating Out

Stilbaai

$173 15.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 49% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Stilbaai

$141 12.3%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 33.5% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Stilbaai

$49 4.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 11.4% $5.6

Getting Around

Stilbaai

$14 * 1.2%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 10.1% $1.4

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 $387 in Stilbaai and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $46.00 in Stilbaai vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Stilbaai

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

11:26 11:26 AM

17:26 5:26 PM

6 h ahead of Stilbaai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

964,169

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stilbaai Cebu 11,790 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Stilbaai
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

Stilbaai vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 25% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,722 in Stilbaai and $1,377 in Cebu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $387 in Stilbaai versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Stilbaai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,148 per month in Stilbaai versus $918 in Cebu – a 25% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,148 in Stilbaai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Stilbaai. 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 Stilbaai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Stilbaai 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 25% less than in Stilbaai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.