3.4/5
412 reviews
Photo by Toa Heftiba via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Cebu

To increase honesty, reviews are anonymous. You can only add one review per city or it replaces/edits your old one. Reviews with URLs or emails are removed. If you're writing about data being wrong, please don't do it here as it'll be removed here.

good

work

stay

safe

carcar

traffic

internet

country

park

south

point

island

easy

wifi

nomads

friendly

american

common

Cebu receives mixed feedback from long-term visitors and digital nomads. It is generally seen as a safe and affordable place with friendly locals. Some foreigners have lived or stayed in both the city center and outlying areas like Carcar and Mactan. Many note that local people are kind and helpful, and that day-to-day living costs are quite low, especially compared to other Southeast Asian destinations like Palawan or even places outside the Philippines.

On the downside, traffic congestion is a common issue across Cebu, and road infrastructure is still in development. Internet access varies significantly depending on the area—a central tourist zone might offer good speed, but outside of that, reliability is inconsistent. For digital nomads, this could be a drawback. Some foreigners also felt that Cebu isn’t as well set up for nomads compared to cities like Da Nang or Chiang Mai.

Overall, Cebu can serve as a reasonable base for short- to medium-term stays, especially for those wanting to explore other islands or enjoy a slower pace. However, it's best to approach it with managed expectations regarding infrastructure and amenities.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

I spent several months in Cebu city, but never more than 3 weeks consecutively. I consider Cebu city as a good temporary base to relax & work, and as a starting point to go to some island or beach (moal boal).
I also learned english there 7 years ago, with private filipino teachers.
In Cebu city there is not many things to do, except work, shopping mall (I worked a lot in Ayala mall), improve your english and party.
You probably want to stay in IT park, which is very safe, chill (not busy busy), have many food options, and basic condo. Filipino like going to IT park as well, so will be easy to meet friends.
I used to stay in Avida tower ; it's small and not that good quality construction compared to Thailand, but this is good quality for the PH. You can rent it on airbnb.
Conclusion: don't plan to come here for more than a week, and you will see if you like the vibe.

2 years ago

This city doesn't deserve to be ahead of cities like Da Nang or Chiang Mai. Still way to underdeveloped. Yes a lot of coffees for wifi but dirty and overall not great conditions for nomads. You'll not find almost any nomads there. I would skip it.

3 years ago

Hi guys, I live in south of Cebu since 2014.Subdivison in Carcar city. Find it safe people are friendlier than me. I'm just causes. I'm 30km from CBD to the south. About an hour drive. If you interested to live in Carcar, check out Lamudi. There are properties for rent and sale. Camelia and Glenrose straight of south road, easy excess. Traffic is quite annoying even in Carcar, mostly because of slow drivers holding, or vehicles who constantly overtaking AGAINST TRAFFIC. Heaps of roadworks nowadays, they trying to improve. Oslob is near, many waterfalls further south. Peaceful. I wouldn't live in CBD. Have all in Carcar, from coffee shop to restaurants. Super metro, Gaisano, save more. They have all.

3 years ago

I was living in the touristy exclave on mactan island, and it was very nice in terms of cost/quality. 600mb symmetrical stable internet, helpful and super friendly (sometimes even too much) staff, clean pools/beaches, all good. But it is exclave for tourists. When you step outside - it is poverty, a bit of chaos and other things you would expect from a third world country. So you can find a balance of these 2 thing that works for you.
Compared to Palawan - this place is absolute winner for me because you get much more for much cheaper.

4 years ago

I was reading previous reviews and there are digital nomads here calling locals idiots, i dont even know if i wanna be classified as a digital nomad because of these arrogant and privileged expats. better go back to your first world country and not travel.

anyway, Cebu is a good jump off point for other islands but good internet is not easy to find unless you just stay at the center.

5 years ago

I love Cebu so maybe I may seem biased but here's my perspective as an American who has spent many months, off and on, in Cebu. It is my other home. I have even owned a condo in Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu previously and a car there too.

First, it's a big city and like any big city you need to be careful. I don't find Cebu to be unsafe. I've felt just as safe in Cebu as I do in my native Los Angeles (California, USA). Obviously don't do things like flash money or valuables, etc. Use common sense... but as my mom used to say "common sense isn't so common" at least not these days.

Many people DO speak English but why would anyone go to a country where English isn't the first language and expect everyone to be fluent in English??? If you want to find people Fluent in English go to English speaking countries.

I'm learning Bisaya as it's my wife's native language (Nagkaton ko ug Bisaya) and I think if you're going to spend a reasonable amount of time in a country you should at least make some effort to learn a little of the language, you don't need to be fluent but it will be helpful to both you and the locals.

No place is perfect but I find Cebu to be very pleasant and I love it despite it's imperfections, I just feel at peace in Cebu.

Cebu does have traffic problems but it seems they're trying to resolve some of the congestion such as adding a 3rd bridge between Cebu City and Cordova/Mactan.

If you're curious about Cebu I recommend that you see it for yourself and check out other reviews for places to stay, sightseeing, etc.

I'm not one who focuses on race but i'm a conservative black American and haven't had any issues regarding race but there are a few who will charge any foreigner higher prices for things. If you go elsewhere you can find many others who are honest and reasonable.

6 years ago

Cebu city isn't safe, and internet is really slow unless you have a fiber connection.
Most of areas are unsafe at night, some are sort of dangerous at daylight too.
Even in deep province of Cebu island (such as Carcar city) I've been feeling much safer than here.
Also don't forget about terrible road traffic and the fact that most of locals here doesn't speak English.

7 years ago

Peacev = Bad, Racial Tolerance = Bad, LGBT Friendly = Bad

Sorry but this is simply not true here in the Philipines. The Koreans and the Chinese are very rude, unsofisticated not to mention dominant. But that something you'll see all over Asia nowadays.

I think revieuwers should at least try to notice the difference between Asians.

Professional fulltime Traveler since 2007

7 years ago

Just don't. Want to get ANY work done? Don't come here. I'm here now, hey. I wanna die. If 50 Kbps is your thing, let's go. Just don't go to this country in general. Internet is so bad, even Laos and Cambodia were MUCH better when it comes to free internet in coffee shops and co-working spaces.

Thinking about going to Manila or Cebu for travel + work? Don't.

7 years ago

By instant rock star status you mean the local idiots who point, laugh and stare and gossip in Bisaya? People are not friendly and should be kept at arm's length. Cebu is probably the best city in the Philippines though so all is not lost.

8 years ago

Lived in Cebu City for 15 years and as you can understand I liked it coz else I would have left. Started a business with 7 employees. As a white foreigner you get instant rock star status. The people are outstandingly friendly.
The air, traffic and humidity is terrible. It's a safe and fun city. Best public WiFi is in Starbucks. Lots of retired American Expats. Left when my two children entered middle school, no good affordable schools.

8 years ago

Stay near Cebu IT Park or Cebu Business Park. Hot and humid city, so use the Grab app, turn the AC on always, and shower daily. Must get a decent Cable ISP with Sky Cable or DSL line with PLDT, the LTE with Smart and Globe Data are lousy. You will not get any decent work done when you're in Bantayan / Camotes / Kawasan / Badian because you can only use LTE in these areas, and the signal is spotty. Airbnb condos in the city offer WiFi, join Facebook groups in Cebu, I noticed that they would usually advertise there. Good luck!

8 years ago

So so. Better than Manila as long you stick to Central Cebu. Terrible city to visit. Surprisingly decent and charming to live in. over time.

8 years ago

✅ Very affordable

✅ Friendly people

✅ Very safe

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Very safe for women

❌ Heavy traffic

❌ Unreliable internet

❌ Underdeveloped infrastructure

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not very safe

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

3290°
hot

3188°
hot

3290°
hot

3188°
hot

3290°
hot

3595°
hot

39102°
hot

3595°
hot

3290°
hot

3086°
warm

Real (median)

2781°
warm

2882°
very warm

2984°
very warm

3187°
hot

2984°
very warm

2882°
very warm

2780°
warm

Humidity

sweaty
87%

sweaty
85%

sweaty
81%

sweaty
78%

sweaty
79%

sweaty
81%

sweaty
82%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
84%

sweaty
85%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
159mm

rainy
134mm

rainy
104mm

rainy
79mm

rainy
125mm

rainy
183mm

rainy
195mm

rainy
137mm

rainy
162mm

rainy
202mm

rainy
201mm

rainy
225mm

Cloud

cloudy
79%

cloudy
64%

cloudy
57%

pockets
49%

cloudy
72%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
87%

cloudy
86%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
77%

cloudy
81%

Air quality

okay
85 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

okay
85 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

3,415 people

3,327 people

2,800 people

3,300 people

3,050 people

2,509 people

2,000 people

1,600 people

1,800 people

2,067 people

1,950 people

2,215 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Cebu's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Cebu and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

1375pts

707pts

372pts

250pts

219pts

196pts

174pts

146pts

120pts

107pts

91pts

75pts

61pts

55pts

46pts

34pts

1pts

1015pts

562pts

296pts

248pts

211pts

190pts

172pts

141pts

109pts

98pts

84pts

70pts

57pts

54pts

40pts

2pts

1pts

720pts

379pts

275pts

225pts

202pts

186pts

152pts

127pts

109pts

96pts

79pts

68pts

57pts

50pts

✈️3h

$1,839 / mo

53 Mbps

Manila

Philippines

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 88° Some AC 🥵 AQI 124 😷

✈️46min

$1,640 / mo

38 Mbps

Vietnam

⭐️ OverallAll

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 68 😷

✈️3h

$1,675 / mo

🌇 Also went here271 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 90 😷

✈️3h

$1,839 / mo

🌇 Also went here199 people

Phuket

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 34° 93° 28° 83° Some AC 🥵 AQI 67 😷

✈️4h

$1,493 / mo

🌇 Also went here139 people

Chiang Mai

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC 🥵 AQI 21

✈️4h

$1,563 / mo

🌇 Also went here183 people

Seoul

South Korea

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70° AQI 55 😷

✈️4h

$3,617 / mo

🌇 Also went here138 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 21° 71° AQI 24

✈️4h

$4,437 / mo

🌇 Also went here177 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 47

✈️15h

$8,074 / mo

🌇 Also went here130 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️15h

$8,221 / mo

🌇 Also went here136 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 54 😷

✈️15h

$7,010 / mo

🌇 Also went here133 people

2,400 remote workers in Cebu now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.4/5 (Rank #210) 412 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍9 liked it 👎7 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,854 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 10 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 29°C85°F (feels 37°C99°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 86%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	🥵 Very low: 14%
💨 Air quality (now)	😐 Moderate: 52 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	😐 Moderate: 85 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Okay
💰 Income level*	Very poor: $348 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Bad
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Good
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Philippines
🗓️ Average trip length	11 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	10 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌫 29°C 85°F + 🥵 Sweaty (86%) = feels 37°C 99°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 52 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 85 US AQI = 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	230V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Grab
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 PHP in USD	USD 1.60
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	PHP 10,000 = USD 160
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
☕️ Best coffee place	Cafe Maru
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Cafe Namoo
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Coffee Zone Cebu
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	970,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$4,171 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 48% 👱‍♀️ 52%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 86% 👱‍♀️ 14%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Lazada
🏠 Apartment listings	Ayosdito
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Asia
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Philippine
🏥 Best hospital	Chong Hua Hospital

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,854 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,018 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,440 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$697 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,023 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,156 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$496 / month
🏠 Median home price	$87,883
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$48 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$38 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$399 / month
🍛 Dinner	$4
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$8,034 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip

Cost of Living in Cebu

2,400 remote workers in Cebu now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Get a free account + 50% off by email