Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surin and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Surin: $869 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $550 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Surin
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Surin Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Surin

🇹🇭 Thailand

$869

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $869 in Surin versus $915 in Cebu.

Surin $869
Cebu $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,444 in Surin versus $1,418 in Cebu.

Surin $1,444
Cebu $1,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,018 in Surin versus $1,921 in Cebu.

Surin $2,018
Cebu $1,921

Living in Surin costs roughly 5% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surin 36% lower, Cebu 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ฿101

$3.05 ₱192

-0.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.70 ฿826

$24.00 ₱1,511

2.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.23 ฿242

$3.99 ₱251

81.20%

Cappuccino

$1.74 ฿58.3

$2.50 ₱157

-30.40%

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

$0.61 ฿20.30

$1.54 ₱97.1

-60.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿10.89

$0.50 ₱31.37

-34.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 ฿73.5

$1.78 ₱112

23.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 ฿114

$2.17 ₱136

57.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ฿52.4

$2.00 ₱126

-21.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 ฿43.79

$1.37 ₱86.2

-4.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 ฿48.98

$1.03 ₱64.9

42.72%

Eggs

$1.90 ฿63.5

$2.03 ₱128

-6.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.41 ฿582

$10.20 ₱642

70.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.48 ฿83.0

$4.45 ₱280

-44.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.89 ฿297

$7.67 ₱483

15.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 ฿86.0

$3.31 ₱208

-22.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 ฿34.23

$1.46 ₱91.8

-30.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 ฿82.9

$2.32 ₱146

6.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ฿68.5

$1.49 ₱94.0

37.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.44 ฿48.20

$2.34 ₱147

-38.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ฿31.77

$1.94 ₱122

-51.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 ฿31.37

$1.16 ₱73.0

-18.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ฿14.59

$0.68 ₱42.89

-35.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 ฿143

$2.99 ₱188

42.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.36 ฿547

$6.24 ₱393

162.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 ฿52.4

$1.23 ₱77.3

27.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 ฿100

$1.73 ₱109

73.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ฿30.79

$0.23 ₱14.36

300.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 ฿45.65

$0.79 ₱49.96

73.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 ฿33.73

$0.22 ₱13.86

359.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.04 ฿202

$4.54 ₱286

33.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ฿45.06

$1.32 ₱82.9

2.27%

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

$22.7K ฿758.4K

$21.0K ₱1.3M

8.03%

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

$27.1K ฿904.4K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

39.47%

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

$77.8 ฿2,601

$119 ₱7,464

-34.36%

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

$11.53 ฿385

$14.22 ₱896

-18.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.68 ฿624

$27.47 ₱1,730

-32.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.58 ฿1,390

$32.31 ₱2,034

28.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.45 ฿383

$6.50 ₱409

76.15%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 ฿218

$5.40 ₱340

20.56%

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

$628 ฿21.0K

$276 ₱17.4K

127.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K ฿405.0K

$7,866 ₱495.3K

54.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 ฿1,773

$49.37 ₱3,108

7.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.95 ฿934

$24.58 ₱1,548

13.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ฿2,451

$76.6 ₱4,825

-4.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.0 ฿2,274

$58.9 ₱3,706

15.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 ฿14.7K

$503 ₱31.7K

-12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ฿9,126

$305 ₱19.2K

-10.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ฿39.6K

$1,075 ₱67.7K

10.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$714 ฿23.9K

$632 ₱39.8K

12.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,730 ฿57.8K

$2,870 ₱180.7K

-39.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,518 ฿50.7K

$1,877 ₱118.2K

-19.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.2

-22.64%

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

Last update for Surin: October 18, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surin

$273 31.4%

Cebu

$305 33.3% 11.5% $31

Groceries & Markets

Surin

$235 27%

Cebu

$210 22.9% 10.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surin

$108 12.4%

Cebu

$160 17.5% 48.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Surin

$100 11.5%

Cebu

$94 10.3% 5.8% $5.8

Eating Out

Surin

$88 10.2%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 0.8% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Surin

$55 6.3%

Cebu

$43 4.7% 21.1% $12

Getting Around

Surin

$10 * 1.2%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 50% $5.1

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 $440 in Surin and $503 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $25.00 in Surin vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Surin

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

00:35 12:35 AM

01:35 1:35 AM

1 h ahead of Surin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,104

964,169

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surin Cebu 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Surin
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

Surin vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surin is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and transport. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,303 in Surin and $1,372 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: $440 in Surin versus $503 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cebu pay roughly 12% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $869 per month in Surin versus $915 in Cebu – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Surin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Surin is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Surin 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 Surin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.