Ankaravs
CebuAnkara vs Cebu: cost, size & quality of life compared
Ankara (composite 5.8) vs Cebu (composite 5.3). Side-by-side on cost of living, population & size, affordability, quality of life, remote-work friendliness and healthcare — with the calculation behind each score.
Composite scores
Overall: Ankara wins by 0.5 points
Population & size
Is Ankara bigger than Cebu?
Ankara is the bigger city: about 5.7M people versus Cebu's 1.0M — roughly 5.7× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
Ankara edges out Cebu on the Mundevo composite, 5.8 to 5.3 out of 10 — a decisive 0.5-point margin across safety, healthcare, air quality and cost.
A 0.5-point composite gap is large enough that the result holds across most reasonable axis re-weightings. Still worth scanning the per-axis breakdown if you have a non-default priority (e.g. air quality matters more to you than the default 25% weight).
Run the salary calculator for both cities at your target lifestyle before deciding — Ankara winning on quality doesn't mean the gross-salary requirement also lands in your favor. If you're on a balanced tier, the cost-of-living pages for each city carry the full monthly basket and the gross-salary figure.
Data signals
What separates Ankara and Cebu
How decisive
Ankara comes out ahead by 0.5 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is quality of life, where Ankara leads by 1.1 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on affordability — within 0.1 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Cebu run about 13% lower than in Ankara.
Where budgets split most
Utilities is the line item that diverges most: roughly 39% pricier in Cebu than Ankara.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
| Axis | Ankara | Cebu | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 7.6 | 7.7 | Cebu +0.1 |
| Quality of life | 5.9 | 4.8 | Ankara +1.1 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 4.9 | 5.3 | Cebu +0.4 |
| Healthcare | 4.6 | 3.5 | Ankara +1.1 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)32
- Rent index (weight 40%)12
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Ankara: ((100 − 32)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 12)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.6.
Ankara sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)60
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)65
- Air quality index (weight 25%)48
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Ankara: (60/100 × 0.4 + 65/100 × 0.35 + 48/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
Ankara has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)40 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)15.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)32
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Ankara: (min(40/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.15) × 0.3 + (100 − 32)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.9.
Ankara works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 40 Mbps, income tax 15%, cost index 32.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)65
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)1200
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Ankara: (65/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 1200/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 4.6.
Ankara has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~1200 TRY/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)31
- Rent index (weight 40%)11
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Cebu: ((100 − 31)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 11)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.7.
Cebu sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)42
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)50
- Air quality index (weight 25%)55
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Cebu: (42/100 × 0.4 + 50/100 × 0.35 + 55/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.8.
Cebu has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: fair; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)60 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)31
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Cebu: (min(60/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 31)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.3.
Cebu works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 60 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 31.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)50
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)1200
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Cebu: (50/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 1200/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.5.
Cebu has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~1200 PHP/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Ankara vs Cebu
Normalized to TRY at 1 PHP = 0.6774 TRY.
| Category | Ankara | Cebu | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | TRY 14,000 | ₱16,000 | -23% |
| food | TRY 8,000 | ₱9,500 | -20% |
| transport | TRY 800 | ₱1,000 | -15% |
| utilities | TRY 2,200 | ₱4,500 | +39% |
| leisure | TRY 6,000 | ₱9,000 | +2% |
| healthcare | TRY 1,200 | ₱1,200 | -32% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is housing: Ankara spends 4.6 percentage points more of its budget on it (43% vs. 39%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Salary equivalence: Ankara ↔ Cebu
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Ankara = 32, Cebu = 31); currency-converted at 1 PHP = 0.6774 TRY. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Ankara gross | Cebu equivalent |
|---|---|
| TRY 40,000 | ₱57,202 |
| TRY 75,000 | ₱107,254 |
| TRY 120,000 | ₱171,607 |
| Cebu gross | Ankara equivalent |
|---|---|
| ₱40,000 | TRY 27,971 |
| ₱75,000 | TRY 52,445 |
| ₱120,000 | TRY 83,913 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Ankara
- Wins on quality of life (+1.1 points vs Cebu).
- Wins on healthcare (+1.1 points vs Cebu).
Why pick Cebu
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+0.4 points vs Ankara).
Ankara trade-offs
No material trade-offs versus Cebu on the scored axes.
Cebu trade-offs
- Trails Ankara on quality of life by 1.1 points.
- Trails Ankara on healthcare by 1.1 points.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Ankara) and 2026-06-10 (Cebu).
- FX rate. 1 PHP = 0.6774 TRY, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Ankara is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Ankara vs Cebu: which is cheaper?
Cebu is roughly 13% cheaper than Ankara on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Ankara has cost index 32 vs Cebu at 31 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Ankara scores 5.8/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Cebu at 5.3/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Ankara wins overall by 0.5 points.
Is Ankara or Cebu better for remote work?
Ankara has 40 Mbps median internet vs Cebu at 60 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.