Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Ialoveni

For one person, living is cheaper in Ialoveni: $806 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Ialoveni
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Ialoveni Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Ialoveni

🇲🇩 Moldova

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Ialoveni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $806 in Ialoveni.

Cebu $918
Ialoveni $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,296 in Ialoveni.

Cebu $1,409
Ialoveni $1,296

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,786 in Ialoveni.

Cebu $1,900
Ialoveni $1,786

Living in Cebu is roughly 14% more expensive than in Ialoveni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Ialoveni 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$8.21 MDL 146

-62.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$28.89 MDL 513

-16.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$10.54 MDL 187

-62.81%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.19 MDL 38.89

14.61%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.23 MDL 21.76

29.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.80 MDL 14.24

-33.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.18 MDL 38.76

-18.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.28 MDL 40.54

-4.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.29 MDL 22.88

48.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.65 MDL 11.50

109.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.65 MDL 11.48

55.38%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.72 MDL 48.37

-25.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$6.74 MDL 120

46.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.04 MDL 89.6

-12.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$4.93 MDL 87.6

54.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$0.97 MDL 17.26

240.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.90 MDL 33.68

-26.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.12 MDL 37.62

9.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.30 MDL 40.84

-34.78%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.72 MDL 12.80

227.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.52 MDL 9.31

265.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.34 MDL 23.82

-11.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.87 MDL 15.48

-27.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.39 MDL 60.3

-11.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$4.68 MDL 83.0

28.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.21 MDL 21.43

1.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.96 MDL 34.75

-10.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.33 MDL 5.85

-24.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$6.91 MDL 123

82.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$2.21 MDL 39.19

-65.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.26 MDL 4.62

-11.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$4.95 MDL 88.0

-9.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.63 MDL 28.89

-19.63%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.5K MDL 524.2K

-28.03%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$24.5K MDL 435.2K

-21.86%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$190 MDL 3,378

-36.80%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$9.47 MDL 168

47.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$11.08 MDL 197

148.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$27.86 MDL 495

16.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$10.96 MDL 195

-39.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$7.42 MDL 132

-23.85%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$111 MDL 1,966

148.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$5,128 MDL 91.1K

54.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$44.77 MDL 795

10.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$27.67 MDL 491

-8.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$84.7 MDL 1,505

-9.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$95.0 MDL 1,686

-39.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$168 MDL 2,975

198.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$112 MDL 1,996

174.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$356 MDL 6,325

202.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$368 MDL 6,529

67.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$591 MDL 10.5K

-41.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

-10.00%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Ialoveni: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Ialoveni

$112 14% 63.6% $196

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Ialoveni

$168 20.8% 18.6% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Ialoveni

$211 26.1% 30.3% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Ialoveni

$113 14.1% 20.8% $20

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Ialoveni

$147 18.3% 66.8% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Ialoveni

$43 5.3% 2.1% $0.9

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Ialoveni

$12 1.5% 24.6% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $168 in Ialoveni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ialoveni pays 71% 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 $29.00 in Ialoveni. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $168, with Ialoveni cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇲🇩 Ialoveni

🕒 Local time

15:31 3:31 PM

10:31 10:31 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

15,300

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Ialoveni 9,560 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Ialoveni

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 Ialoveni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ialoveni is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Ialoveni. 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 $168 in Ialoveni. 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 $806 in Ialoveni – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ialoveni runs roughly 83% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Ialoveni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Ialoveni 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 Ialoveni 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 Ialoveni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.