Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zabbar and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,847 in Zabbar, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Zabbar
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Zabbar Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Zabbar

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,847

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,847 in Zabbar versus $918 in Cebu.

Zabbar $1,847
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,659 in Zabbar versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Zabbar $2,659
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,472 in Zabbar versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Zabbar $3,472
Cebu $1,900

Living in Zabbar is roughly 101% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zabbar is 37% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.06 €15.18

$3.09 ₱194

452.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.38 €34.14

$24.22 ₱1,525

58.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.66 €6.81

$3.92 ₱247

95.41%

Cappuccino

$2.68 €2.39

$2.51 ₱158

6.77%

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

$2.28 €2.03

$1.59 ₱100

43.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 €0.62

$0.53 ₱33.43

32.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.78 ₱112

26.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.93

$2.17 ₱137

103.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.92 ₱121

-40.10%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 €0.51

$1.36 ₱85.4

-58.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.01 ₱63.5

12.87%

Eggs

$3.91 €3.48

$2.03 ₱128

92.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.69 €5.06

$9.86 ₱621

-42.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.39 ₱277

-0.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.08 €8.96

$7.60 ₱479

32.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 €3.80

$3.30 ₱208

29.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.39 ₱87.8

96.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$2.33 ₱147

52.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 €3.01

$1.50 ₱94.3

125.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 €2.25

$2.36 ₱149

7.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.90 ₱119

3.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.19 ₱74.9

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 €1.02

$0.63 ₱39.71

80.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.52 €5.80

$3.00 ₱189

117.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.94 €7.07

$6.03 ₱379

31.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.23 ₱77.7

36.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.13

$1.75 ₱110

37.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.52 €2.25

$0.25 ₱15.86

908.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.81 €14.95

$12.64 ₱796

32.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 €4.79

$0.77 ₱48.62

600.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 €1.97

$0.23 ₱14.53

865.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.49 €23.57

$4.46 ₱281

493.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.31 ₱82.8

16.03%

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

$37.1K €33.0K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

74.65%

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

$38.7K €34.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

102.07%

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

$103 €91.9

$120 ₱7,569

-14.06%

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

$25.52 €22.70

$14.00 ₱882

82.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.11 €37.46

$27.54 ₱1,734

52.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 €55.3

$32.33 ₱2,035

92.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.03 €9.81

$6.65 ₱419

65.86%

Cinema Ticket

$10.17 €9.05

$5.65 ₱356

80.00%

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

$359 €320

$275 ₱17.3K

30.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,249 €2,001

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-71.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.6 €77.0

$49.33 ₱3,106

75.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.20 €36.65

$25.24 ₱1,589

63.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.6 €86.8

$77.0 ₱4,846

26.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 €70.1

$57.2 ₱3,601

37.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,121 €997

$500 ₱31.5K

124.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$951 €846

$309 ₱19.4K

207.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,788 €1,590

$1,078 ₱67.9K

65.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,488 €1,324

$615 ₱38.7K

141.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,086 €3,635

$2,886 ₱181.7K

41.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,051 €3,603

$1,917 ₱120.7K

111.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,131 €1,006

$346 ₱21.8K

227.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

7.2

-59.72%

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

Last update for Zabbar: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zabbar

$951 51.5%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 67.5% $642

Groceries & Markets

Zabbar

$239 12.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 13.7% $33

Eating Out

Zabbar

$224 12.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 60.6% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zabbar

$171 9.3%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 5.4% $9.2

Clothing & Footwear

Zabbar

$137 7.4%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 31.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Zabbar

$83 4.5%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 47.1% $39

Getting Around

Zabbar

$43 2.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 64.1% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,121 in Zabbar and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zabbar pays 227% 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: $38.00 in Zabbar vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Zabbar

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

17:53 5:53 PM

23:53 11:53 PM

6 h ahead of Zabbar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,404

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zabbar Cebu 11,030 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Zabbar
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

Zabbar vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 227% higher in Zabbar, 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: $1,121 in Zabbar versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,847 per month in Zabbar versus $918 in Cebu – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 33% less than in Zabbar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,847 in Zabbar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Zabbar. 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 Zabbar, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Zabbar 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 101% less than in Zabbar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.