Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wollongong and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,251 in Wollongong, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Wollongong
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Wollongong Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Wollongong

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,251

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,251 in Wollongong versus $918 in Cebu.

Wollongong $2,251
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,295 in Wollongong versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Wollongong $3,295
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,339 in Wollongong versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Wollongong $4,339
Cebu $1,900

Living in Wollongong is roughly 145% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wollongong is 67% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.72 A$24.06

$3.09 ₱194

441.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.9 A$121

$24.22 ₱1,525

246.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 A$14.78

$3.92 ₱247

161.99%

Cappuccino

$3.49 A$5.03

$2.51 ₱158

39.04%

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

$3.16 A$4.54

$1.59 ₱100

98.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 A$3.12

$0.53 ₱33.43

309.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.09 A$10.20

$1.78 ₱112

298.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.93 A$9.97

$2.17 ₱137

219.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 A$1.72

$1.92 ₱121

-38.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.92 A$4.20

$1.36 ₱85.4

114.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 A$3.04

$1.01 ₱63.5

108.91%

Eggs

$3.93 A$5.65

$2.03 ₱128

93.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.40 A$14.96

$9.86 ₱621

5.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.47 A$13.62

$4.39 ₱277

115.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.48 A$22.27

$7.60 ₱479

103.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 A$4.17

$3.30 ₱208

-12.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 A$3.65

$1.39 ₱87.8

82.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$2.33 ₱147

41.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.53 A$6.51

$1.50 ₱94.3

202.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 A$3.33

$2.36 ₱149

-2.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 A$3.71

$1.90 ₱119

35.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.56 A$3.68

$1.19 ₱74.9

115.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 A$1.91

$0.63 ₱39.71

111.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.92 A$64.6

$3.00 ₱189

1397.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.90 A$20.00

$6.03 ₱379

130.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.38 A$6.31

$1.23 ₱77.7

256.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.67 A$6.72

$1.75 ₱110

166.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.97 A$2.84

$0.25 ₱15.86

688.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 A$5.92

$0.77 ₱48.62

433.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 A$2.23

$0.23 ₱14.53

573.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$42.79 A$61.6

$4.46 ₱281

859.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 A$1.90

$1.31 ₱82.8

0.76%

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

$26.6K A$38.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

25.01%

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

$24.8K A$35.6K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

29.39%

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

$185 A$267

$120 ₱7,569

54.21%

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

$27.08 A$38.97

$14.00 ₱882

93.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 A$73.5

$27.54 ₱1,734

85.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$81.8 A$118

$32.33 ₱2,035

153.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.07 A$20.24

$6.65 ₱419

111.58%

Cinema Ticket

$13.02 A$18.73

$5.65 ₱356

130.44%

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

$2,148 A$3,091

$275 ₱17.3K

680.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.5K A$29.5K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

159.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 A$98.1

$49.33 ₱3,106

38.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 A$79.2

$25.24 ₱1,589

117.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 A$152

$77.0 ₱4,846

36.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 A$155

$57.2 ₱3,601

88.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 A$1,793

$500 ₱31.5K

149.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,079 A$1,552

$309 ₱19.4K

249.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,947 A$2,802

$1,078 ₱67.9K

80.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,666 A$2,398

$615 ₱38.7K

170.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,438 A$6,386

$2,886 ₱181.7K

53.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,676 A$5,290

$1,917 ₱120.7K

91.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,130 A$7,382

$346 ₱21.8K

1382.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.23

7.2

-27.36%

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

Last update for Wollongong: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wollongong

$1.1K 47.9%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 71.4% $770

Groceries & Markets

Wollongong

$353 15.7%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 41.7% $147

Eating Out

Wollongong

$277 12.3%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 68.1% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wollongong

$264 11.7%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 38.6% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Wollongong

$151 6.7%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 37.9% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Wollongong

$108 4.8%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 59.6% $64

Getting Around

Wollongong

$20 * 0.9%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 21.2% $4.2

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 $1,246 in Wollongong and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wollongong pays 1383% 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: $84.0 in Wollongong vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $353 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Wollongong

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

3 h behind Wollongong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

280,153

964,169

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wollongong Cebu 5,730 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Wollongong
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

Wollongong vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 145% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1383% higher in Wollongong, 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: $1,246 in Wollongong versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Wollongong. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,251 per month in Wollongong versus $918 in Cebu – a 145% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,251 in Wollongong, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Wollongong. 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 Wollongong, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Wollongong 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 145% less than in Wollongong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.