Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Arad

For one person, living is cheaper in Arad: $873 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $540 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Arad
Learn more

Arad Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Arad

🇷🇴 Romania

$873

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Arad

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cebu and in Arad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $918 per month in Cebu vs $873 in Arad, rent included.

Cebu $918
Arad $873

A couple spends around $1,409 per month in Cebu vs $1,366 in Arad, rent included.

Cebu $1,409
Arad $1,366

A family of three spends $1,900 per month in Cebu vs $1,858 in Arad, rent included.

Cebu $1,900
Arad $1,858

Cebu costs about 5% more than Arad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cebu and Arad are more affordable than the global median – Cebu 32% lower, Arad 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$8.16 RON 38.63

-62.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$32.35 RON 153

-25.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.15 RON 33.83

-45.17%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.63 RON 12.45

-4.56%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.48 RON 7.00

7.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.59 RON 7.53

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.14 RON 10.15

-16.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.48 RON 11.71

-12.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.12 RON 5.32

71.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.22 RON 5.76

11.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.72 RON 8.16

-41.28%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.57 RON 12.17

-21.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$7.17 RON 33.94

37.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$4.87 RON 23.03

-9.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$10.13 RON 47.93

-24.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.60 RON 7.59

106.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.70 RON 8.05

-18.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.69 RON 8.02

37.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.40 RON 6.60

7.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.76 RON 3.59

210.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.85 RON 4.04

123.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.18 RON 5.60

0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.77 RON 3.63

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.95 RON 28.14

-49.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$5.73 RON 27.10

5.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.22 RON 5.78

0.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.78 RON 8.40

-1.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.87 RON 4.11

-71.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$29.34 RON 139

-56.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.79 RON 3.71

-2.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.07 RON 5.06

-78.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$10.40 RON 49.22

-57.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.84 RON 8.72

-28.80%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$27.8K RON 131.8K

-23.72%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$24.9K RON 117.8K

-23.13%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$125 RON 590

-3.56%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$8.19 RON 38.74

70.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$7.28 RON 34.42

278.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$34.12 RON 161

-5.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$30.83 RON 146

-78.43%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$5.27 RON 24.91

7.21%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$159 RON 752

73.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$3,847 RON 18.2K

105.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$42.29 RON 200

16.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$21.47 RON 102

17.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$70.9 RON 335

8.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$72.6 RON 343

-21.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$332 RON 1,571

50.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$222 RON 1,052

38.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$529 RON 2,505

103.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$412 RON 1,951

49.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,420 RON 6,719

103.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,062 RON 5,027

80.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$919 RON 4,349

-62.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.35

-2.04%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Arad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Arad

$222 25.5% 28% $87

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Arad

$188 21.5% 8.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Arad

$140 16% 13.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Arad

$93 10.7% 0.7% $0.7

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Arad

$146 16.8% 65.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Arad

$45 5.1% 2.4% $1

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Arad

$39 4.5% 150% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $500 in Cebu versus $332 in Arad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 166% higher in Arad, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Cebu versus $32.00 in Arad. Groceries tell a different story – $206 in Cebu vs $188 in Arad – so Arad wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Arad

🕒 Local time

05:01 5:01 AM

00:01 12:01 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

159,074

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Arad 10,130 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Arad

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

Cebu vs Arad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu costs about 5% more than Arad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,377 per month in Cebu and $1,310 in Arad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arad, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Cebu and $32.00 in Arad. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $918 in Cebu and $873 in Arad. That's a gap of about 5%.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $918 in Cebu and $873 in Arad, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arad costs $873 versus $918 in Cebu. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Arad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cebu makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.