Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Skien

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $2,336 in Skien, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Skien
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Skien Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Skien

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,336

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Skien

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $2,336 in Skien.

Cebu $918
Skien $2,336

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $3,267 in Skien.

Cebu $1,409
Skien $3,267

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $4,197 in Skien.

Cebu $1,900
Skien $4,197

Living in Cebu costs roughly 61% less than in Skien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 32% below, Skien is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$21.21 NOK 200

-85.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$103 NOK 971

-76.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$15.47 NOK 146

-74.66%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$5.11 NOK 48.11

-50.88%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$4.36 NOK 41.01

-63.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$2.97 NOK 27.96

-82.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$11.89 NOK 112

-85.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$12.33 NOK 116

-82.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.11 NOK 19.84

-9.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$3.92 NOK 36.90

-65.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$4.57 NOK 42.98

-77.90%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$5.66 NOK 53.3

-64.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$13.16 NOK 124

-25.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$15.17 NOK 143

-71.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$21.79 NOK 205

-65.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$3.35 NOK 31.49

-1.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$2.70 NOK 25.42

-48.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$3.49 NOK 32.86

-33.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$5.95 NOK 56.0

-74.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$2.24 NOK 21.04

5.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$2.78 NOK 26.12

-31.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$3.04 NOK 28.63

-60.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$2.48 NOK 23.33

-74.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$19.02 NOK 179

-84.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$15.76 NOK 148

-61.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$3.35 NOK 31.58

-63.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$4.33 NOK 40.76

-59.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$3.26 NOK 30.64

-92.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$47.91 NOK 451

-73.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$11.13 NOK 105

-93.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.81 NOK 17.02

-87.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$70.8 NOK 667

-93.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$2.27 NOK 21.39

-42.29%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$47.5K NOK 447.3K

-55.29%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$43.4K NOK 408.1K

-55.84%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$93.9 NOK 884

28.10%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$33.89 NOK 319

-58.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$53.6 NOK 504

-48.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$43.10 NOK 406

-24.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$15.29 NOK 144

-63.05%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$239 NOK 2,247

15.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$15.7K NOK 148.1K

-49.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$63.7 NOK 600

-22.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$60.4 NOK 568

-58.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$87.9 NOK 827

-12.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$153 NOK 1,442

-62.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$1,042 NOK 9,811

-52.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$975 NOK 9,183

-68.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$1,035 NOK 9,746

4.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$939 NOK 8,841

-34.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$3,395 NOK 32.0K

-15.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$3,149 NOK 29.6K

-39.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$4,236 NOK 39.9K

-91.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.37

64.76%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Skien: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Skien

$975 41.8% 216% $667

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Skien

$470 20.1% 128% $264

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Skien

$181 7.8% 12.1% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Skien

$164 7% 74.9% $70

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Skien

$391 16.7% 343% $303

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Skien

$74 3.2% 68.9% $30

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Skien

$81 3.5% 421% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $1,042 in Skien. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Skien pays 1125% 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 $103 in Skien for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $470 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇳🇴 Skien

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

19:55 7:55 PM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

56,769

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cebu Skien 10,350 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Skien

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 Skien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 155% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1125% lower in Skien. 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 $1,042 in Skien. 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 $2,336 in Skien – a 155% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 279% less than in Skien. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $2,336 in Skien, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Skien. 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 Skien, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Skien 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 155% less than in Skien. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.