Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Brasov

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,314 in Brasov, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Brasov
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Brasov Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Brasov

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,314

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Brasov

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,314 in Brasov.

Cebu $934
Brasov $1,314

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $2,128 in Brasov.

Cebu $1,415
Brasov $2,128

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $2,943 in Brasov.

Cebu $1,896
Brasov $2,943

Living in Cebu costs roughly 29% less than in Brasov, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Brasov 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$11.01 RON 52.1

-72.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$51.8 RON 245

-54.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$7.53 RON 35.61

-45.68%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$3.70 RON 17.48

-31.89%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$2.36 RON 11.15

-34.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$2.13 RON 10.10

-77.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$3.19 RON 15.07

-43.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$3.31 RON 15.64

-31.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.57 RON 7.43

24.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.43 RON 6.78

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.77 RON 8.39

-42.37%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$3.51 RON 16.58

-41.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$8.78 RON 41.51

11.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$6.87 RON 32.48

-32.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$12.79 RON 60.5

-39.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.46 RON 6.91

126.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.51 RON 7.14

-3.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.66 RON 7.85

42.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$2.75 RON 13.01

-44.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.77 RON 3.62

206.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.92 RON 4.35

116.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.89 RON 4.19

29.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.76 RON 3.58

-11.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$6.03 RON 28.52

-50.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$7.49 RON 35.42

-15.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.24 RON 5.89

5.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.80 RON 8.53

-3.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$1.08 RON 5.11

-76.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$23.54 RON 111

-46.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$0.66 RON 3.13

12.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.62 RON 2.95

-66.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$6.47 RON 30.60

-33.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.85 RON 8.73

-28.11%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$28.8K RON 136.4K

-24.50%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$26.2K RON 123.7K

-25.84%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$179 RON 846

-32.57%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$7.87 RON 37.24

83.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$8.98 RON 42.50

215.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$57.5 RON 272

-43.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$13.43 RON 63.5

-52.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$9.57 RON 45.25

-42.95%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$446 RON 2,111

-38.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$6,960 RON 32.9K

17.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$51.2 RON 242

-3.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$35.07 RON 166

-29.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$75.0 RON 355

2.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$90.9 RON 430

-34.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$694 RON 3,284

-27.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$468 RON 2,216

-33.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$1,297 RON 6,135

-18.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$1,066 RON 5,042

-41.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$3,104 RON 14.7K

-6.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$2,401 RON 11.4K

-22.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$1,097 RON 5,187

-68.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Brasov: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Brasov

$468 35.8% 51.4% $159

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Brasov

$229 17.4% 8.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Brasov

$196 14.9% 19.8% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Brasov

$113 8.7% 19.9% $19

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Brasov

$196 14.9% 121% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Brasov

$77 5.9% 75.8% $33

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Brasov

$32 2.4% 105% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $694 in Brasov. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brasov pays 222% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $52.0 in Brasov for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $229 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Brasov

🕒 Local time

16:21 4:21 PM

11:21 11:21 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

253,200

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Brasov 9,830 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Brasov

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 Brasov: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu and Brasov differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($934 vs $1,314 including rent). Cebu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 222% lower in Brasov. 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: $506 in Cebu versus $694 in Brasov. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cebu – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $52.0 in Brasov. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $1,314 in Brasov – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,314 in Brasov, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Brasov. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Brasov 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 Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Brasov. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.