Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Shumen

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Shumen: $918 and $906 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Shumen
Learn more

Shumen Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Shumen

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$906

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Shumen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $906 in Shumen.

Cebu $918
Shumen $906

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

Cebu $1,409
Shumen $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,912 in Shumen.

Cebu $1,900
Shumen $1,912

Living in Cebu is roughly 1% more expensive than in Shumen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$9.24 BGN 16.07

-66.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$33.55 BGN 58.4

-27.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$8.87 BGN 15.44

-55.81%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.73 BGN 3.01

45.09%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.48 BGN 2.58

7.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.00 BGN 1.75

-47.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.92 BGN 5.08

-39.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.83 BGN 4.93

-23.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.81 BGN 3.15

6.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.03 BGN 1.79

32.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.43 BGN 4.22

-58.44%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.88 BGN 5.02

-29.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$8.90 BGN 15.49

10.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.08 BGN 8.85

-13.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$8.75 BGN 15.23

-13.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.50 BGN 2.62

120.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.06 BGN 3.58

-32.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.18 BGN 3.80

6.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.27 BGN 3.95

-33.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.04 BGN 3.54

15.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.31 BGN 2.28

45.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.83 BGN 1.44

43.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.75 BGN 1.30

-16.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.68 BGN 6.41

-18.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$7.18 BGN 12.50

-16.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.95 BGN 1.66

29.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.40 BGN 2.44

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.94 BGN 1.64

-73.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$25.92 BGN 45.10

-51.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.75 BGN 3.04

-56.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.48 BGN 0.84

-52.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.52 BGN 2.64

-13.82%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.3K BGN 52.8K

-29.95%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$22.2K BGN 38.6K

-13.62%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$133 BGN 231

-9.40%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$17.28 BGN 30.07

-18.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$17.28 BGN 30.06

59.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$38.57 BGN 67.1

-16.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$11.34 BGN 19.72

-41.36%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$6.79 BGN 11.82

-16.79%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$570 BGN 991

-51.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$10.2K BGN 17.8K

-22.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$48.34 BGN 84.1

2.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$51.3 BGN 89.2

-50.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$94.1 BGN 164

-18.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$60.2 BGN 105

-4.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$262 BGN 455

90.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$176 BGN 306

75.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$430 BGN 748

150.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$326 BGN 567

88.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,263 BGN 2,197

128.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$986 BGN 1,716

94.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,004 BGN 1,747

-65.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.25

121.54%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Shumen: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Shumen

$176 19.4% 43.1% $133

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Shumen

$211 23.3% 2.5% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Shumen

$167 18.5% 3.4% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Shumen

$114 12.6% 21.6% $20

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Shumen

$151 16.7% 71.6% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Shumen

$52 5.8% 19.6% $8.5

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Shumen

$34 3.7% 118% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $262 in Shumen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shumen pays 190% 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 $34.00 in Shumen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $211 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇬 Shumen

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

02:37 2:37 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

85,504

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, 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 = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Shumen 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Shumen

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 Shumen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shumen is cheaper overall, especially in utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 190% lower in Shumen. 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 $262 in Shumen. 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 $906 in Shumen – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Shumen runs roughly 105% 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 Shumen gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Shumen 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 Shumen 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 Shumen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.