Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Nis

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,033 in Nis, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Nis
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Nis Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Nis

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Nis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,033 in Nis.

Cebu $934
Nis $1,033

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,512 in Nis.

Cebu $1,415
Nis $1,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,991 in Nis.

Cebu $1,896
Nis $1,991

Living in Cebu costs roughly 10% less than in Nis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Nis 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱191

$8.78 RSD 917

-65.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,476

$33.92 RSD 3,541

-30.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱257

$9.57 RSD 999

-57.26%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$1.97 RSD 206

27.92%

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

$1.54 ₱97.2

$2.31 RSD 242

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱31.06

$1.74 RSD 182

-71.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱113

$3.61 RSD 377

-50.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$4.49 RSD 469

-49.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.14 RSD 120

71.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.9

$0.70 RSD 73.2

104.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱64.0

$1.76 RSD 184

-42.05%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.35 RSD 246

-12.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱617

$7.65 RSD 799

28.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱290

$5.72 RSD 597

-19.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱484

$10.59 RSD 1,105

-27.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$1.11 RSD 116

198.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.2

$1.68 RSD 175

-13.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.50 RSD 157

57.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.6

$2.17 RSD 226

-29.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.78 RSD 81.8

202.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.72 RSD 74.7

176.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.3

$0.64 RSD 66.6

79.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.26

$0.58 RSD 60.6

15.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.42 RSD 461

-32.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱399

$5.78 RSD 604

9.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱82.1

$0.72 RSD 75.3

81.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.29 RSD 135

34.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.44

$1.84 RSD 192

-59.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.15

$0.66 RSD 68.8

-68.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱272

$8.29 RSD 866

-47.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.7

$1.89 RSD 198

-29.63%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

-29.21%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$24.0K RSD 2.5M

-19.10%

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

$121 ₱7,583

$160 RSD 16.8K

-24.86%

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

$14.45 ₱909

$19.03 RSD 1,987

-24.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,779

$22.20 RSD 2,318

27.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,055

$30.54 RSD 3,188

7.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱402

$15.65 RSD 1,634

-59.17%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱343

$4.68 RSD 489

16.67%

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

$273 ₱17.2K

$252 RSD 26.4K

8.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱512.9K

$4,989 RSD 520.9K

63.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,117

$88.4 RSD 9,234

-43.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,564

$37.42 RSD 3,906

-33.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,817

$99.3 RSD 10.4K

-22.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,727

$112 RSD 11.7K

-46.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.8K

$398 RSD 41.5K

27.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.5K

$277 RSD 28.9K

11.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.1K

$591 RSD 61.7K

77.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.9K

$397 RSD 41.5K

55.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱183.4K

$2,531 RSD 264.2K

15.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.4K

$1,884 RSD 196.7K

-0.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.5K

$901 RSD 94.0K

-62.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

5.12

40.63%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nis: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Nis

$277 27.1% 10.4% $32

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Nis

$182 17.8% 13.6% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Nis

$202 19.7% 23.5% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Nis

$152 14.8% 60.2% $57

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Nis

$166 16.2% 87.8% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Nis

$40 3.9% 8.5% $3.7

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Nis

$5.1 * 0.5% 66.7% $10

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $398 in Nis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nis pays 164% 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 $34.00 in Nis. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $182, with Nis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇸 Nis

🕒 Local time

14:14 2:14 PM

08:14 8:14 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

78,470

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Nis 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Nis

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 Nis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing and eating out. The 11% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 164% lower in Nis. 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 $398 in Nis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Nis pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Cebu versus $1,033 in Nis – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

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

Safety-wise, Cebu and Nis 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 11% less than in Nis. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.