Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Bacau

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Bacau: $918 and $913 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Bacau
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Bacau Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Bacau

🇷🇴 Romania

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Bacau

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 Bacau actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $918 per month in Cebu vs $913 in Bacau, rent included.

Cebu $918
Bacau $913

A couple spends around $1,409 per month in Cebu vs $1,548 in Bacau, rent included.

Cebu $1,409
Bacau $1,548

A family of three spends $1,900 per month in Cebu vs $2,182 in Bacau, rent included.

Cebu $1,900
Bacau $2,182

Cebu costs about 1% more than Bacau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$14.05 RON 66.5

-78.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$85.1 RON 402

-71.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.39 RON 34.96

-46.96%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.98 RON 9.37

26.77%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.94 RON 9.16

-18.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.90 RON 8.97

-72.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.48 RON 11.75

-28.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.16 RON 14.96

-31.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.22 RON 5.76

57.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.65 RON 3.09

109.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.64 RON 7.74

-38.41%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.39 RON 16.03

-40.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$7.79 RON 36.87

26.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.43 RON 25.67

-19.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.42 RON 39.86

-9.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.14 RON 5.41

189.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.49 RON 7.06

-6.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.55 RON 7.32

50.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.74 RON 8.24

-13.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.72 RON 3.43

227.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.65 RON 3.07

192.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.76 RON 3.59

56.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.68 RON 3.23

-7.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$5.47 RON 25.87

-45.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$5.08 RON 24.02

18.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.94 RON 4.46

30.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.22 RON 5.78

43.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.74 RON 3.51

-66.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$29.14 RON 138

-56.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.62 RON 2.92

24.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.67 RON 3.17

-65.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$7.08 RON 33.51

-37.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.80 RON 8.50

-27.22%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$28.9K RON 136.6K

-26.42%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$24.9K RON 117.9K

-23.13%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$106 RON 502

13.26%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$7.51 RON 35.53

86.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$4.83 RON 22.86

470.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$25.72 RON 122

25.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$15.83 RON 74.9

-57.99%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$6.44 RON 30.45

-12.27%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$591 RON 2,794

-53.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$4,858 RON 23.0K

62.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$82.9 RON 392

-40.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$31.49 RON 149

-19.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$59.6 RON 282

29.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$83.6 RON 395

-31.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$400 RON 1,891

24.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$235 RON 1,113

31.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$546 RON 2,584

97.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$399 RON 1,889

54.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,818 RON 8,604

58.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,199 RON 5,673

59.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$933 RON 4,415

-62.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.97

3.30%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bacau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Bacau

$235 25.8% 23.8% $74

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Bacau

$176 19.3% 14.4% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Bacau

$118 13% 26.8% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Bacau

$116 12.7% 23.4% $22

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Bacau

$192 21.1% 118% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Bacau

$39 4.2% 11.5% $5

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Bacau

$36 4% 132% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $500 in Cebu versus $400 in Bacau. 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 170% higher in Bacau, 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 $85.0 in Bacau. Groceries tell a different story – $206 in Cebu vs $176 in Bacau – so Bacau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Bacau

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

02:37 2:37 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

144,307

💱 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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Between locations

Cebu Bacau 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Bacau

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 Bacau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cebu is pricier by about 1%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,377 per month in Cebu and $1,369 in Bacau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bacau, 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 $85.0 in Bacau. 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 $913 in Bacau. That's a gap of about 1%.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $918 in Cebu and $913 in Bacau, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Bacau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Bacau. 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.