Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $859 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $710 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

42

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
Learn more

Alexandria Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Alexandria

🇷🇴 Romania

$859

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Alexandria versus $918 in Cebu.

Alexandria $859
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,320 in Alexandria versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Alexandria $1,320
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,781 in Alexandria versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Alexandria $1,781
Cebu $1,900

Living in Alexandria costs roughly 6% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Alexandria 36% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 RON 39.26

$3.09 ₱194

168.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.10 RON 142

$24.22 ₱1,525

24.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 RON 34.24

$3.92 ₱247

84.69%

Cappuccino

$1.62 RON 7.68

$2.51 ₱158

-35.46%

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

$1.76 RON 8.34

$1.59 ₱100

10.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 RON 7.03

$0.53 ₱33.43

181.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 RON 9.99

$1.78 ₱112

18.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 RON 11.66

$2.17 ₱137

13.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 RON 6.56

$1.92 ₱121

-27.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$1.36 ₱85.4

-41.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 RON 5.21

$1.01 ₱63.5

8.91%

Eggs

$2.16 RON 10.23

$2.03 ₱128

6.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.98 RON 23.57

$9.86 ₱621

-49.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 RON 20.35

$4.39 ₱277

-2.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 RON 36.31

$7.60 ₱479

0.92%

Apples (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.16

$3.30 ₱208

-73.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 RON 5.57

$1.39 ₱87.8

-15.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.98 RON 4.61

$2.33 ₱147

-57.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 RON 4.62

$1.50 ₱94.3

-34.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 RON 3.33

$2.36 ₱149

-70.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.61 RON 2.87

$1.90 ₱119

-67.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 RON 3.40

$1.19 ₱74.9

-39.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 RON 4.06

$0.63 ₱39.71

36.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 RON 25.69

$3.00 ₱189

81.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.15 RON 24.38

$6.03 ₱379

-14.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 RON 4.34

$1.23 ₱77.7

-25.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 RON 5.10

$1.75 ₱110

-38.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$0.25 ₱15.86

140.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.28 RON 200

$12.64 ₱796

234.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 RON 2.07

$0.77 ₱48.62

-42.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 RON 1.91

$0.23 ₱14.53

73.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.49 RON 25.97

$4.46 ₱281

23.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.31 ₱82.8

31.30%

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

$16.1K RON 76.2K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

-24.20%

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

$23.1K RON 109.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

20.75%

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

$115 RON 545

$120 ₱7,569

-4.18%

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

$5.18 RON 24.53

$14.00 ₱882

-63.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.60 RON 35.96

$27.54 ₱1,734

-72.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.6 RON 277

$32.33 ₱2,035

81.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.59 RON 116

$6.65 ₱419

269.77%

Cinema Ticket

$6.36 RON 30.10

$5.65 ₱356

12.57%

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

$308 RON 1,459

$275 ₱17.3K

11.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,663 RON 31.5K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-15.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 RON 245

$49.33 ₱3,106

4.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.37 RON 106

$25.24 ₱1,589

-11.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.2 RON 299

$77.0 ₱4,846

-17.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.0 RON 303

$57.2 ₱3,601

11.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$319 RON 1,511

$500 ₱31.5K

-36.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 RON 1,127

$309 ₱19.4K

-22.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 RON 2,731

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-46.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$419 RON 1,981

$615 ₱38.7K

-31.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,235 RON 5,842

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-57.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$778 RON 3,679

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-59.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$844 RON 3,995

$346 ₱21.8K

144.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

7.2

-6.53%

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

Last update for Alexandria: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$238 27.7%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 29.7% $71

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$148 17.2%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 38.9% $58

Eating Out

Alexandria

$136 15.8%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 35.1% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$128 14.9%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 26.4% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$91 10.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 3.7% $3.4

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$71 8.3%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 38.8% $28

Getting Around

Alexandria

$47 5.5%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 67% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $319 in Alexandria and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alexandria pays 144% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Alexandria vs $24.00 in Cebu. Groceries flip the comparison at $148 vs $206, with Alexandria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Alexandria

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:38 4:38 AM

09:38 9:38 AM

5 h ahead of Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,434

964,169

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 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 RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Cebu 9,890 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
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

Alexandria vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandria wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Cebu. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alexandria the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 144% higher in Alexandria, 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: $319 in Alexandria versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $859 per month in Alexandria versus $918 in Cebu – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alexandria runs roughly 234% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Alexandria gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alexandria delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $859 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alexandria hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Alexandria 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 Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.