Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Elbasan

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Elbasan: $918 and $882 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
Learn more

Elbasan Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$882

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Elbasan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $882 in Elbasan.

Cebu $918
Elbasan $882

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,391 in Elbasan.

Cebu $1,409
Elbasan $1,391

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,901 in Elbasan.

Cebu $1,900
Elbasan $1,901

Living in Cebu is roughly 4% more expensive than in Elbasan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Elbasan 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$9.79 ALL 788

-68.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$36.36 ALL 2,928

-33.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$6.85 ALL 552

-42.77%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.68 ALL 135

49.40%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.35 ALL 109

17.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.63 ALL 50.8

-15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.16 ALL 174

-17.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.83 ALL 228

-23.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.88 ALL 151

2.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.91 ALL 73.4

49.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.62 ALL 131

-37.65%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.70 ALL 218

-24.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$9.98 ALL 804

-1.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.87 ALL 473

-25.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$11.19 ALL 901

-32.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.20 ALL 96.3

175.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.28 ALL 184

-39.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.36 ALL 109

71.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.07 ALL 86.1

40.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.98 ALL 79.0

140.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.09 ALL 87.5

74.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.81 ALL 65.1

46.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.65 ALL 52.1

-3.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.38 ALL 353

-31.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$8.07 ALL 649

-25.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.02 ALL 82.0

20.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.85 ALL 149

-5.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.48 ALL 38.46

-47.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$19.51 ALL 1,571

-35.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$3.77 ALL 303

-79.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.51 ALL 122

-84.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$14.94 ALL 1,203

-70.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.15 ALL 173

-39.07%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$28.9K ALL 2.3M

-26.56%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$29.9K ALL 2.4M

-35.97%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$61.1 ALL 4,918

96.87%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$15.20 ALL 1,224

-7.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$12.00 ALL 966

129.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$56.6 ALL 4,558

-42.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$17.22 ALL 1,386

-61.38%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$4.33 ALL 349

30.48%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$139 ALL 11.2K

98.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$1,835 ALL 147.8K

331.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$72.1 ALL 5,804

-31.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$44.85 ALL 3,611

-43.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$94.8 ALL 7,630

-18.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$96.3 ALL 7,754

-40.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$299 ALL 24.1K

67.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$204 ALL 16.4K

51.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$442 ALL 35.6K

143.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$311 ALL 25.1K

97.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,361 ALL 109.6K

112.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$858 ALL 69.1K

123.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$539 ALL 43.4K

-35.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

6.1

18.03%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Elbasan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Elbasan

$204 23.1% 34% $105

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Elbasan

$210 23.8% 1.8% $3.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Elbasan

$88 10% 45.4% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Elbasan

$139 15.7% 47.5% $45

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Elbasan

$143 16.3% 62.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Elbasan

$65 7.4% 49.6% $22

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Elbasan

$33 3.7% 110% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $299 in Elbasan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elbasan pays 56% 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 $36.00 in Elbasan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

06:05 6:05 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

78,703

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Elbasan 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Elbasan

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 Elbasan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elbasan is cheaper overall, especially in utilities. The 4% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Elbasan. 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: $500 in Cebu versus $299 in Elbasan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $882 in Elbasan – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Elbasan runs roughly 54% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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

For families, Elbasan 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 Elbasan 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 Elbasan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.