Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Malmo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $2,046 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 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
99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Malmo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $2,046 in Malmo.

Cebu $934
Malmo $2,046

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $3,083 in Malmo.

Cebu $1,415
Malmo $3,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $4,121 in Malmo.

Cebu $1,896
Malmo $4,121

Living in Cebu costs roughly 54% less than in Malmo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 30% below, Malmo is 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$14.90 SEK 149

-79.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$74.0 SEK 740

-68.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$12.18 SEK 122

-66.42%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$4.83 SEK 48.23

-47.83%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$3.35 SEK 33.52

-54.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$2.70 SEK 26.97

-81.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$8.46 SEK 84.5

-78.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$9.10 SEK 90.9

-75.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.73 SEK 17.26

12.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$2.87 SEK 28.67

-50.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$3.32 SEK 33.22

-69.28%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$4.11 SEK 41.10

-49.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$12.74 SEK 127

-23.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$11.86 SEK 119

-61.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$21.61 SEK 216

-64.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$2.99 SEK 29.93

10.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$2.58 SEK 25.82

-43.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$2.96 SEK 29.61

-20.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$4.15 SEK 41.43

-62.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.66 SEK 16.62

42.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$1.53 SEK 15.29

30.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$2.47 SEK 24.65

-53.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$1.23 SEK 12.24

-45.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$7.72 SEK 77.1

-61.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$11.53 SEK 115

-44.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$2.01 SEK 20.05

-34.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$2.34 SEK 23.43

-26.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$3.15 SEK 31.45

-92.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$63.5 SEK 635

-80.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$6.00 SEK 59.9

-87.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$2.41 SEK 24.07

-91.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$49.13 SEK 491

-91.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.74 SEK 17.36

-23.56%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$32.3K SEK 322.6K

-32.57%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$33.2K SEK 331.5K

-41.51%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$138 SEK 1,380

-12.71%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$26.21 SEK 262

-44.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$36.07 SEK 361

-21.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$39.93 SEK 399

-18.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$28.69 SEK 287

-77.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$17.17 SEK 172

-68.20%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$167 SEK 1,666

64.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$3,311 SEK 33.1K

146.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$98.0 SEK 979

-49.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$44.19 SEK 442

-43.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$113 SEK 1,125

-31.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$152 SEK 1,520

-61.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$1,063 SEK 10.6K

-52.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$818 SEK 8,173

-62.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$1,720 SEK 17.2K

-38.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

-54.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$4,026 SEK 40.2K

-27.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$3,166 SEK 31.6K

-41.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$3,045 SEK 30.4K

-88.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.05

136.07%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Malmo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Malmo

$818 40.1% 164% $508

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Malmo

$372 18.2% 76.6% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Malmo

$200 9.8% 22.7% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Malmo

$183 9% 93.5% $88

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Malmo

$298 14.6% 238% $210

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Malmo

$74 3.6% 70.4% $31

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Malmo

$94 4.6% 510% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $1,063 in Malmo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malmo pays 793% 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 $74.0 in Malmo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $210 vs $372 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇸🇪 Malmo

🕒 Local time

18:23 6:23 PM

12:23 12:23 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

316,588

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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 = 70.28 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.2 SEK (100 SEK = 8.93 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Malmo 10,330 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Malmo

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 Malmo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 119% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 793% lower in Malmo. 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 $1,063 in Malmo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $2,046 in Malmo – a 119% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 402% less than in Malmo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $2,046 in Malmo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Malmo. The gap between the two cities makes Cebu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Cebu and Malmo 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 119% less than in Malmo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.