Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cahul and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $635 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$635

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $635 in Cahul versus $918 in Cebu.

Cahul $635
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Cahul versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Cahul $927
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Cahul versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Cahul $1,219
Cebu $1,900

Living in Cahul costs roughly 31% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cahul 53% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.54 MDL 152

$3.09 ₱194

176.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.42 MDL 416

$24.22 ₱1,525

-3.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.36 MDL 184

$3.92 ₱247

164.29%

Cappuccino

$1.67 MDL 29.62

$2.51 ₱158

-33.47%

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

$1.10 MDL 19.60

$1.59 ₱100

-30.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 MDL 10.39

$0.53 ₱33.43

9.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.97 MDL 35.05

$1.78 ₱112

10.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MDL 32.05

$2.17 ₱137

-17.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 MDL 21.41

$1.92 ₱121

-36.98%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 MDL 8.13

$1.36 ₱85.4

-66.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 MDL 27.58

$1.01 ₱63.5

53.47%

Eggs

$2.15 MDL 38.13

$2.03 ₱128

5.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.65 MDL 118

$9.86 ₱621

-32.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 MDL 83.3

$4.39 ₱277

6.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.09 MDL 108

$7.60 ₱479

-19.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 MDL 17.74

$3.30 ₱208

-69.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 MDL 40.16

$1.39 ₱87.8

62.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MDL 33.62

$2.33 ₱147

-18.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MDL 40.46

$1.50 ₱94.3

52.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 MDL 13.69

$2.36 ₱149

-67.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 MDL 8.51

$1.90 ₱119

-74.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 MDL 8.18

$1.19 ₱74.9

-61.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MDL 9.76

$0.63 ₱39.71

-12.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 MDL 58.8

$3.00 ₱189

10.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.54 MDL 80.7

$6.03 ₱379

-24.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 MDL 25.07

$1.23 ₱77.7

14.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 MDL 34.54

$1.75 ₱110

10.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 MDL 4.78

$0.25 ₱15.86

8.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 MDL 51.0

$0.77 ₱48.62

272.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.26 MDL 4.62

$0.23 ₱14.53

13.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MDL 101

$4.46 ₱281

27.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 MDL 27.84

$1.31 ₱82.8

19.85%

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

$33.4K MDL 593.4K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

57.29%

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

$23.8K MDL 422.6K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

24.29%

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

$225 MDL 3,990

$120 ₱7,569

86.85%

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

$8.06 MDL 143

$14.00 ₱882

-42.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.01 MDL 196

$27.54 ₱1,734

-60.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$7.74 MDL 137

$5.65 ₱356

36.99%

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

$111 MDL 1,978

$275 ₱17.3K

-59.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,302 MDL 94.2K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-33.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.70 MDL 794

$49.33 ₱3,106

-9.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 MDL 985

$77.0 ₱4,846

-27.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.1 MDL 908

$57.2 ₱3,601

-10.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$500 MDL 8,884

$346 ₱21.8K

44.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

11.11%

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

Last update for Cahul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cahul

$244 38.4%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 33.6% $82

Groceries & Markets

Cahul

$162 25.6%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 26.8% $44

Eating Out

Cahul

$140 22%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 36.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Cahul

$68 * 10.7%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 37.9% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Cahul

$15 * 2.4%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 182% $28

Getting Around

Cahul

$5.3 * 0.8%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 197% $10

Accommodation & Living

Cahul

- * 0%

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Cahul pays 45% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cahul vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $162 vs $206 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Cahul

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

07:04 7:04 AM

12:04 12:04 PM

5 h ahead of Cahul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,500

964,169

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 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 MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cahul Cebu 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cahul
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

Cahul vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 45% lower than in Cebu. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Cahul, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $635 per month in Cahul versus $918 in Cebu – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Cahul 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 Cahul delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $635 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cahul hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cahul 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 Cahul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.