Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Suwon and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $1,363 in Suwon, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Suwon
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Suwon Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Suwon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,363

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,363 in Suwon versus $915 in Cebu.

Suwon $1,363
Cebu $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,148 in Suwon versus $1,418 in Cebu.

Suwon $2,148
Cebu $1,418

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,933 in Suwon versus $1,921 in Cebu.

Suwon $2,933
Cebu $1,921

Living in Suwon is roughly 49% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Suwon is 1% above, Cebu is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.96 ₩7,921

$3.05 ₱192

95.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.15 ₩40.1K

$24.00 ₱1,511

25.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.57 ₩10.1K

$3.99 ₱251

89.72%

Cappuccino

$3.39 ₩4,512

$2.50 ₱157

35.60%

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

$1.60 ₩2,126

$1.54 ₱97.1

3.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₩836

$0.50 ₱31.37

26.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.86 ₩5,129

$1.78 ₱112

116.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.77 ₩6,336

$2.17 ₱136

119.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.65 ₩3,528

$2.00 ₱126

32.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 ₩3,546

$1.37 ₱86.2

94.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.40 ₩4,517

$1.03 ₱64.9

230.10%

Eggs

$3.15 ₩4,184

$2.03 ₱128

55.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.04 ₩14.7K

$10.20 ₱642

8.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.50 ₩15.3K

$4.45 ₱280

158.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.06 ₩14.7K

$7.67 ₱483

44.20%

Apples (1kg)

$6.28 ₩8,355

$3.31 ₱208

89.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.95 ₩3,916

$1.46 ₱91.8

102.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.29 ₩7,030

$2.32 ₱146

128.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.44 ₩5,910

$1.49 ₱94.0

197.99%

Potato (1kg)

$3.45 ₩4,590

$2.34 ₱147

47.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 ₩3,516

$1.94 ₱122

36.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.86 ₩6,458

$1.16 ₱73.0

318.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 ₩1,726

$0.68 ₱42.89

91.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.78 ₩5,029

$2.99 ₱188

26.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.86 ₩18.4K

$6.24 ₱393

122.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 ₩3,369

$1.23 ₱77.3

105.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ₩4,939

$1.73 ₱109

114.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 ₩1,603

$0.23 ₱14.36

426.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.15 ₩62.7K

$12.34 ₱777

282.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 ₩3,739

$0.79 ₱49.96

255.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.66 ₩882

$0.22 ₱13.86

200.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$4.54 ₱286

93.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ₩1,856

$1.32 ₱82.9

6.06%

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

$28.4K ₩37.7M

$21.0K ₱1.3M

35.06%

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

$25.5K ₩33.9M

$19.4K ₱1.2M

31.27%

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

$185 ₩246.1K

$119 ₱7,464

56.15%

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

$17.99 ₩23.9K

$14.22 ₱896

26.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.72 ₩23.6K

$27.47 ₱1,730

-35.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.21 ₩58.8K

$32.31 ₱2,034

36.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.73 ₩15.6K

$6.50 ₱409

80.46%

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 ₩14.9K

$5.40 ₱340

107.59%

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

$696 ₩925.0K

$276 ₱17.4K

152.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K ₩24.0M

$7,866 ₱495.3K

129.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.84 ₩49.0K

$49.37 ₱3,108

-25.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$106 ₩140.4K

$24.58 ₱1,548

329.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 ₩98.1K

$76.6 ₱4,825

-3.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 ₩78.7K

$58.9 ₱3,706

0.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$433 ₩575.7K

$503 ₱31.7K

-14.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ₩466.4K

$305 ₱19.2K

15.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,164 ₩1.5M

$1,075 ₱67.7K

8.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 ₩1.1M

$632 ₱39.8K

28.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.7K ₩16.8M

$2,870 ₱180.7K

341.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,005 ₩9.3M

$1,877 ₱118.2K

273.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,576 ₩3.4M

$336 ₱21.1K

666.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.5

7.2

-9.72%

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

Last update for Suwon: October 18, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Suwon

$394 28.9%

Cebu

$210 22.9% 46.8% $185

Accommodation & Living

Suwon

$351 25.7%

Cebu

$305 33.3% 13.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Suwon

$221 16.2%

Cebu

$160 17.5% 27.4% $61

Eating Out

Suwon

$149 10.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 41% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Suwon

$124 9.1%

Cebu

$94 10.3% 23.9% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Suwon

$67 4.9%

Cebu

$43 4.7% 35.3% $24

Getting Around

Suwon

$58 4.3%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 73.9% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $433 in Suwon and $503 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suwon pays 667% 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: $30.00 in Suwon vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $394 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Suwon

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

01:50 1:50 AM

00:50 12:50 AM

1 h behind Suwon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,203,000

964,169

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 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 KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Suwon Cebu 3,020 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Suwon
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

Suwon vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 49% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 667% higher in Suwon, 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: $433 in Suwon versus $503 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,363 per month in Suwon versus $915 in Cebu – a 49% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 282% less than in Suwon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $915 in Cebu versus $1,363 in Suwon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Suwon. 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 Suwon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Suwon 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 49% less than in Suwon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.