Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Subic Bay Freeport Zone: $641 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Subic Bay Freeport Zone
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Subic Bay Freeport Zone Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Subic Bay Freeport Zone

🇵🇭 Philippines

$641

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $641 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $934 in Cebu.

Subic Bay Freeport Zone $641
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $978 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $1,423 in Cebu.

Subic Bay Freeport Zone $978
Cebu $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,315 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $1,913 in Cebu.

Subic Bay Freeport Zone $1,315
Cebu $1,913

Living in Subic Bay Freeport Zone costs roughly 31% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Subic Bay Freeport Zone 53% lower, Cebu 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.60 ₱293

$3.79 ₱242

21.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.04 ₱894

$23.33 ₱1,486

-39.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.13 ₱327

$3.94 ₱251

30.20%

Cappuccino

$2.21 ₱141

$2.54 ₱162

-12.99%

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

$0.68 ₱43.04

$1.57 ₱99.9

-56.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₱21.32

$0.47 ₱29.73

-29.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 ₱88.6

$1.77 ₱112

-21.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₱128

$2.22 ₱141

-9.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 ₱100

$1.90 ₱121

-16.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 ₱69.5

$1.36 ₱86.9

-19.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.85 ₱54.1

$0.94 ₱59.6

-9.57%

Eggs

$1.93 ₱123

$1.99 ₱127

-3.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.86 ₱310

$9.70 ₱618

-49.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.99 ₱254

$4.32 ₱275

-7.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.56 ₱481

$7.51 ₱478

0.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 ₱136

$3.31 ₱211

-35.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ₱110

$1.37 ₱87.2

26.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 ₱162

$2.34 ₱149

8.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ₱73.3

$1.49 ₱95.1

-22.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 ₱141

$2.30 ₱146

-3.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 ₱133

$1.87 ₱119

11.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 ₱58.6

$1.10 ₱70.1

-16.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ₱38.57

$0.63 ₱40.23

-3.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.84 ₱181

$2.86 ₱182

-0.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.35 ₱468

$6.08 ₱388

20.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ₱58.8

$1.27 ₱81.2

-27.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 ₱117

$1.72 ₱109

6.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 ₱11.78

$0.22 ₱13.94

-18.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.86 ₱819

$12.34 ₱786

4.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.80 ₱51.3

$0.74 ₱47.38

8.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.37

$0.22 ₱14.04

-4.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 ₱118

$4.28 ₱272

-56.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 ₱65.8

$1.31 ₱83.4

-21.37%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$20.8K ₱1.3M

-7.87%

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

$20.0K ₱1.3M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

4.80%

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

$135 ₱8,578

$118 ₱7,542

13.75%

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

$14.33 ₱913

$15.76 ₱1,004

-9.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.57 ₱1,055

$28.33 ₱1,804

-41.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.08 ₱1,916

$32.94 ₱2,098

-8.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.28 ₱337

$6.49 ₱413

-18.64%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 ₱333

$5.45 ₱347

-4.04%

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

$127 ₱8,078

$276 ₱17.6K

-54.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,688 ₱489.6K

$7,789 ₱496.1K

-1.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.05 ₱1,850

$48.18 ₱3,069

-39.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.80 ₱1,325

$24.47 ₱1,559

-15.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.5 ₱4,046

$75.3 ₱4,795

-15.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.93 ₱2,989

$58.0 ₱3,695

-19.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$124 ₱7,896

$477 ₱30.4K

-74.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.0 ₱4,905

$322 ₱20.5K

-76.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$323 ₱20.6K

$963 ₱61.3K

-66.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 ₱11.9K

$626 ₱39.9K

-70.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,434 ₱155.0K

$4,551 ₱289.9K

-46.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,143 ₱72.8K

$3,028 ₱192.9K

-62.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$333 ₱21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.92

7.2

-3.89%

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

Last update for Subic Bay Freeport Zone: October 24, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$177 27.6%

Cebu

$204 21.8% 15.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$166 25.8%

Cebu

$163 17.4% 1.9% $3.1

Eating Out

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$94 14.6%

Cebu

$94 10.1% 0.3% $0.3

Accommodation & Living

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$77 12%

Cebu

$322 34.5% 318% $245

Clothing & Footwear

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$72 11.3%

Cebu

$93 9.9% 28.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$41 6.3%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 8.2% $3.3

Getting Around

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$15 2.4%

Cebu

$15 1.6% 2.5% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $124 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone and $477 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $14 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone vs $23 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $204 per month, with Subic Bay Freeport Zone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Subic Bay Freeport Zone

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

09:10 9:10 AM

Same time as Subic Bay Freeport Zone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

221,178

964,169

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Subic Bay Freeport Zone Cebu 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Subic Bay Freeport Zone
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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

Subic Bay Freeport Zone vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Subic Bay Freeport Zone is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $962 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone and $1,401 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: $124 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $477 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $641 per month in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $934 in Cebu – Subic Bay Freeport Zone is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 4% less than in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $641 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $934 in Cebu, a $800 budget is realistic in Subic Bay Freeport Zone but tight or insufficient in Cebu. The gap between the two cities makes Subic Bay Freeport Zone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Cebu are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.