Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Bečej

For one person, living is cheaper in Bečej: $844 a month against $915 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Bečej
Learn more

Bečej Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Bečej

🇷🇸 Serbia

$844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Bečej

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $844 in Bečej.

Cebu $915
Bečej $844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $1,261 in Bečej.

Cebu $1,418
Bečej $1,261

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $1,679 in Bečej.

Cebu $1,921
Bečej $1,679

Living in Cebu is roughly 8% more expensive than in Bečej, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Bečej 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$6.50 RSD 677

-53.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$33.61 RSD 3,504

-28.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$9.59 RSD 1,000

-58.39%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$1.18 RSD 123

111.86%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$1.40 RSD 146

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$0.74 RSD 77.4

-32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.46 RSD 153

21.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$1.90 RSD 198

14.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$0.98 RSD 102

104.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.17 RSD 122

17.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$1.45 RSD 151

-28.97%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.11 RSD 220

-3.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$8.84 RSD 921

15.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$6.67 RSD 696

-33.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$7.32 RSD 763

4.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$0.98 RSD 102

237.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.85 RSD 193

-21.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$1.55 RSD 162

49.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$1.86 RSD 194

-19.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$0.70 RSD 72.9

234.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$0.32 RSD 33.01

506.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.64 RSD 66.7

81.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.54 RSD 56.7

25.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$3.92 RSD 409

-23.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$3.78 RSD 394

65.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$0.66 RSD 68.4

86.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$0.93 RSD 97.2

86.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$0.90 RSD 93.9

-74.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$1.87 RSD 195

-57.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.80 RSD 83.0

-72.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$9.43 RSD 983

-51.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.92 RSD 201

-31.25%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$30.9K RSD 3.2M

-31.94%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$23.7K RSD 2.5M

-18.23%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$62.0 RSD 6,458

91.36%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$9.59 RSD 999

48.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$23.07 RSD 2,405

19.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$29.23 RSD 3,047

10.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$8.36 RSD 872

-35.41%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$433 RSD 45.2K

-36.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$11.2K RSD 1.2M

-29.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$110 RSD 11.4K

-54.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$47.52 RSD 4,953

-48.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$63.3 RSD 6,601

21.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$113 RSD 11.7K

-47.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$316 RSD 33.0K

59.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$256 RSD 26.7K

19.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$434 RSD 45.2K

147.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$327 RSD 34.1K

93.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$2,136 RSD 222.7K

34.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$1,750 RSD 182.4K

7.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

$526 RSD 54.8K

-36.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.61

56.18%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bečej: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Bečej

$256 30.3% 16% $49

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Bečej

$174 20.6% 17.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Bečej

$95 11.2% 41% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Bečej

$150 17.8% 59% $56

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Bečej

$115 13.6% 30.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Bečej

$46 5.5% 6.6% $2.9

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Bečej

$9.5 * 1.1% 37.6% $5.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $316 in Bečej. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bečej pays 57% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $34.00 in Bečej. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $174, with Bečej cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇸 Bečej

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

15:53 3:53 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

19,492

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Bečej 10,240 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Bečej

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 Bečej: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bečej is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and transport. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Bečej. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $503 in Cebu versus $316 in Bečej. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Cebu. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $844 in Bečej – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Bečej gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Bečej is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cebu, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Bečej 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 Bečej gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.