Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,060 in Onesti, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Onesti
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Onesti Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Onesti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,060 in Onesti.

Cebu $918
Onesti $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,597 in Onesti.

Cebu $1,409
Onesti $1,597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,135 in Onesti.

Cebu $1,900
Onesti $2,135

Living in Cebu costs roughly 13% less than in Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Onesti 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$10.61 RON 50.2

-70.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$42.76 RON 202

-43.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$7.14 RON 33.78

-45.10%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$2.89 RON 13.67

-13.15%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$2.20 RON 10.41

-27.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.77 RON 8.36

-70.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$3.21 RON 15.19

-44.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.71 RON 17.56

-41.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.04 RON 4.92

84.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.36 RON 6.46

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.06 RON 9.73

-50.97%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.98 RON 14.10

-31.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$7.23 RON 34.19

36.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.50 RON 30.74

-32.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$9.94 RON 47.03

-23.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.03 RON 4.89

220.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.45 RON 6.86

-4.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.59 RON 7.55

46.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.08 RON 9.85

-27.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.84 RON 3.99

180.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.89 RON 4.22

113.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.16 RON 5.51

2.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.61 RON 2.90

3.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$6.40 RON 30.29

-53.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$5.22 RON 24.69

15.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.37 RON 6.48

-10.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.03 RON 9.60

-13.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.77 RON 3.64

-67.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$21.59 RON 102

-41.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$0.87 RON 4.12

-11.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.80 RON 3.79

-71.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$8.20 RON 38.79

-45.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.44 RON 6.82

-9.03%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.2K RON 137.9K

-27.13%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$27.8K RON 131.4K

-31.08%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$184 RON 870

-34.64%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$7.27 RON 34.40

92.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$8.67 RON 41.02

217.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$37.79 RON 179

-14.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$20.49 RON 96.9

-67.55%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$8.58 RON 40.59

-34.15%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$420 RON 1,987

-34.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$6,932 RON 32.8K

14.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$38.31 RON 181

28.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$39.59 RON 187

-36.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$91.9 RON 435

-16.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$89.9 RON 425

-36.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$377 RON 1,784

32.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$282 RON 1,333

9.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$587 RON 2,778

83.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$445 RON 2,106

38.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,876 RON 8,875

53.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,367 RON 6,466

40.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$618 RON 2,925

-44.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.18

0.28%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Onesti: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Onesti

$282 26.6% 8.8% $27

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Onesti

$197 18.5% 4.5% $9.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Onesti

$200 18.9% 23.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Onesti

$117 11% 24.4% $23

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Onesti

$180 17% 104% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Onesti

$55 5.2% 26% $11

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Onesti

$30 2.8% 89.8% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $377 in Onesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Onesti pays 79% 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 $43.00 in Onesti. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $197, with Onesti cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

04:42 4:42 AM

23:42 11:42 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

57,333

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Onesti 9,720 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Onesti

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 Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 15% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% lower in Onesti. 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 $377 in Onesti. 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 $1,060 in Onesti – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 71% less than in Onesti. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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 Onesti, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Onesti 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 15% less than in Onesti. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.