Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Mostar

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Mostar: $918 and $899 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Mostar
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Mostar Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Mostar

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$899

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Mostar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $899 in Mostar.

Cebu $918
Mostar $899

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,402 in Mostar.

Cebu $1,409
Mostar $1,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,904 in Mostar.

Cebu $1,900
Mostar $1,904

Living in Cebu is roughly 2% more expensive than in Mostar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Mostar 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$6.85 BAM 11.91

-54.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$31.14 BAM 54.2

-22.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$5.67 BAM 9.86

-30.86%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.65 BAM 2.86

52.12%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.83 BAM 3.18

-13.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.18 BAM 2.05

-55.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.34 BAM 4.07

-23.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.09 BAM 3.64

3.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.16 BAM 2.01

65.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.91 BAM 1.58

49.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.97 BAM 3.43

-48.73%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.63 BAM 4.58

-22.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$7.77 BAM 13.52

26.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$7.40 BAM 12.87

-40.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$10.58 BAM 18.39

-28.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.10 BAM 1.91

200.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.65 BAM 2.87

-15.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.35 BAM 2.35

72.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$1.15 BAM 1.99

30.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.04 BAM 1.80

126.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.97 BAM 1.69

95.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.71 BAM 1.24

67.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.71 BAM 1.23

-11.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.92 BAM 6.82

-23.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$4.04 BAM 7.02

49.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.80 BAM 1.39

53.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$0.89 BAM 1.54

96.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.11 BAM 1.94

-77.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$36.85 BAM 64.1

-65.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.73 BAM 3.00

-55.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.55 BAM 0.96

-58.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$5.77 BAM 10.03

-22.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.51 BAM 2.63

-13.25%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.9K BAM 52.0K

-28.92%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$21.3K BAM 37.0K

-9.97%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$90.6 BAM 158

32.69%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$17.70 BAM 30.77

-20.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$26.06 BAM 45.31

5.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$35.45 BAM 61.6

-8.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$10.08 BAM 17.54

-34.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$5.77 BAM 10.04

-2.08%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$135 BAM 235

103.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$18.5K BAM 32.2K

-57.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$57.9 BAM 101

-14.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$32.01 BAM 55.7

-21.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$87.0 BAM 151

-11.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$81.3 BAM 141

-29.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$432 BAM 752

15.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$249 BAM 433

24.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$663 BAM 1,153

62.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$459 BAM 798

34.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,305 BAM 4,008

25.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,582 BAM 2,751

21.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$860 BAM 1,495

-59.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.3

67.44%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mostar: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Mostar

$249 27.7% 19.4% $60

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Mostar

$188 20.9% 8.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Mostar

$134 14.9% 16.9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Mostar

$116 12.9% 23.7% $22

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Mostar

$119 13.3% 35.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Mostar

$47 5.2% 7.7% $3.4

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Mostar

$46 5.1% 194% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $432 in Mostar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mostar pays 149% 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 $31.00 in Mostar. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $188, with Mostar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇦 Mostar

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

13:25 1:25 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

60,195

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BAM = 0.575 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, 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).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Mostar 10,490 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Mostar

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 Mostar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mostar is cheaper overall, especially in groceries. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 149% lower in Mostar. 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 $432 in Mostar. 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 $899 in Mostar – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Mostar runs roughly 192% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Mostar gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Mostar 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 Mostar 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 Mostar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.