Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Ploiesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,072 in Ploiesti, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Ploiesti
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Ploiesti Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Ploiesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,072

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Ploiesti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,072 in Ploiesti.

Cebu $934
Ploiesti $1,072

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,631 in Ploiesti.

Cebu $1,415
Ploiesti $1,631

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $2,191 in Ploiesti.

Cebu $1,896
Ploiesti $2,191

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Ploiesti 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$11.59 RON 54.8

-73.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$45.91 RON 217

-48.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$7.99 RON 37.79

-48.81%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$3.00 RON 14.17

-16.00%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$2.16 RON 10.21

-28.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$2.10 RON 9.96

-76.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$2.55 RON 12.05

-29.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$3.31 RON 15.65

-31.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.64 RON 7.76

18.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$1.13 RON 5.34

26.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.48 RON 7.00

-31.08%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$3.18 RON 15.05

-35.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$7.91 RON 37.40

24.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$6.80 RON 32.16

-32.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$9.35 RON 44.25

-17.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.36 RON 6.41

143.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.73 RON 8.17

-16.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.43 RON 6.78

65.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$2.00 RON 9.44

-23.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$0.77 RON 3.63

206.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.76 RON 3.61

161.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.65 RON 3.07

76.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.77 RON 3.66

-12.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$6.12 RON 28.96

-50.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$6.57 RON 31.07

-3.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$0.93 RON 4.39

40.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.45 RON 6.84

19.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.85 RON 4.04

-70.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$21.35 RON 101

-40.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$0.64 RON 3.04

15.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.66 RON 3.10

-68.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$6.37 RON 30.15

-32.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.83 RON 8.64

-27.32%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$28.1K RON 132.9K

-22.52%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$25.3K RON 119.7K

-23.33%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$153 RON 723

-21.11%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$6.32 RON 29.88

128.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$8.66 RON 40.95

226.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$43.93 RON 208

-25.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$20.72 RON 98.0

-69.16%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$8.23 RON 38.91

-33.66%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$393 RON 1,860

-30.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$5,729 RON 27.1K

42.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$73.3 RON 347

-32.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$42.28 RON 200

-41.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$90.8 RON 429

-15.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$95.9 RON 453

-38.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$418 RON 1,975

21.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$287 RON 1,358

7.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$565 RON 2,675

86.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$459 RON 2,170

34.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$1,944 RON 9,194

49.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$1,236 RON 5,845

51.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$972 RON 4,596

-64.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.85

-8.28%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Ploiesti: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Ploiesti

$287 26.8% 7.2% $22

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Ploiesti

$201 18.8% 4.3% $9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Ploiesti

$168 15.7% 2.8% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Ploiesti

$136 12.7% 43.7% $41

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Ploiesti

$189 17.7% 114% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Ploiesti

$60 5.6% 38.5% $17

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Ploiesti

$29 2.7% 85.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $418 in Ploiesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ploiesti pays 185% 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 $46.00 in Ploiesti. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $201, with Ploiesti cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Ploiesti

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

07:48 7:48 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

224,406

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Ploiesti 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Ploiesti

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 Ploiesti: 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 185% lower in Ploiesti. 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 $418 in Ploiesti. 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 $1,072 in Ploiesti – 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 69% less than in Ploiesti. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,072 in Ploiesti, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Ploiesti. 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 Ploiesti, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Ploiesti 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 Ploiesti. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.