Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Moss

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,476 in Moss, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Moss
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Moss Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Moss

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,476

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Moss

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $2,476 in Moss.

Cebu $918
Moss $2,476

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $3,721 in Moss.

Cebu $1,409
Moss $3,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,966 in Moss.

Cebu $1,900
Moss $4,966

Living in Cebu costs roughly 63% less than in Moss, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Moss is 83% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$21.02 NOK 198

-85.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$78.2 NOK 736

-69.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$13.46 NOK 127

-70.88%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$5.11 NOK 48.08

-50.88%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$3.13 NOK 29.45

-49.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$2.63 NOK 24.74

-79.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$6.67 NOK 62.8

-73.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$8.29 NOK 78.1

-73.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.40 NOK 22.58

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$3.56 NOK 33.54

-61.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$3.54 NOK 33.35

-71.47%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.42 NOK 32.23

-40.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$13.38 NOK 126

-26.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$12.92 NOK 122

-66.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$27.90 NOK 263

-72.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.38 NOK 31.79

-2.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.57 NOK 24.21

-45.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.95 NOK 27.81

-21.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$5.83 NOK 54.9

-74.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.30 NOK 21.69

2.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.49 NOK 23.47

-23.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$2.53 NOK 23.77

-52.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$2.35 NOK 22.10

-73.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$15.35 NOK 144

-80.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$15.77 NOK 148

-61.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$2.64 NOK 24.83

-53.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$3.85 NOK 36.27

-54.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$4.76 NOK 44.85

-94.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$86.5 NOK 814

-85.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$10.43 NOK 98.2

-92.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.88 NOK 17.66

-87.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$45.81 NOK 431

-90.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.30 NOK 21.66

-43.04%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$42.6K NOK 401.0K

-50.13%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$41.2K NOK 387.7K

-53.51%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$299 NOK 2,816

-59.81%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$33.40 NOK 314

-58.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$54.0 NOK 508

-49.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$39.52 NOK 372

-18.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$33.32 NOK 314

-80.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$18.14 NOK 171

-68.85%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$235 NOK 2,217

16.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$3,756 NOK 35.4K

110.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$97.8 NOK 920

-49.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$60.0 NOK 565

-57.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$104 NOK 979

-25.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$142 NOK 1,332

-59.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,218 NOK 11.5K

-58.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$912 NOK 8,586

-66.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$2,091 NOK 19.7K

-48.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$1,576 NOK 14.8K

-60.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$5,125 NOK 48.2K

-43.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$4,121 NOK 38.8K

-53.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$4,341 NOK 40.9K

-92.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.94

45.75%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Moss: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Moss

$912 36.9% 195% $603

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Moss

$452 18.3% 120% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Moss

$387 15.6% 139% $225

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Moss

$181 7.3% 93.2% $88

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Moss

$343 13.8% 288% $255

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Moss

$76 3.1% 73.8% $32

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Moss

$125 5.1% 705% $110

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $1,218 in Moss. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Moss pays 1155% 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: $24.00 in Cebu vs $78.0 in Moss for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $452 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇳🇴 Moss

🕒 Local time

01:54 1:54 AM

19:54 7:54 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

52,213

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Moss 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Moss

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 Moss: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 170% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1155% lower in Moss. 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 $1,218 in Moss. 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 $2,476 in Moss – a 170% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 584% less than in Moss. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,476 in Moss, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Moss. 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 Moss, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Moss 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 170% less than in Moss. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.