Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Sliven

For one person, living is cheaper in Sliven: $774 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Sliven
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Sliven Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Sliven

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Sliven

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $774 in Sliven.

Cebu $918
Sliven $774

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,228 in Sliven.

Cebu $1,409
Sliven $1,228

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $1,681 in Sliven.

Cebu $1,900
Sliven $1,681

Living in Cebu is roughly 19% more expensive than in Sliven, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Sliven 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$11.63 BGN 20.24

-73.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$33.58 BGN 58.4

-27.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$10.13 BGN 17.63

-61.30%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.85 BGN 3.23

35.68%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.23 BGN 2.15

29.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$0.93 BGN 1.63

-43.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.73 BGN 3.01

2.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.25 BGN 3.91

-3.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.52 BGN 2.64

26.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$0.81 BGN 1.41

67.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.66 BGN 4.64

-62.03%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.11 BGN 3.67

-3.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$7.97 BGN 13.86

23.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$5.54 BGN 9.64

-20.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$6.72 BGN 11.69

13.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.45 BGN 2.53

127.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.60 BGN 2.78

-13.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.39 BGN 2.42

67.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.18 BGN 3.79

-31.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.50 BGN 0.88

372.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.83 BGN 1.44

128.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.06 BGN 1.84

12.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.50 BGN 0.86

26.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.55 BGN 6.18

-15.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$6.08 BGN 10.58

-0.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.05 BGN 1.82

17.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.22 BGN 2.13

43.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$0.66 BGN 1.14

-62.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$35.36 BGN 61.5

-64.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.11 BGN 1.93

-30.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$0.58 BGN 1.00

-60.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$8.31 BGN 14.46

-46.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.53 BGN 2.66

-14.38%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.5K BGN 53.0K

-30.30%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$21.9K BGN 38.1K

-12.48%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$84.8 BGN 148

41.71%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$20.02 BGN 34.83

-30.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$9.07 BGN 15.79

203.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$23.19 BGN 40.35

39.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$5.62 BGN 9.79

0.53%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$500 BGN 869

-44.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$6,332 BGN 11.0K

25.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$56.2 BGN 97.8

-12.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$22.74 BGN 39.57

10.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$67.2 BGN 117

14.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$62.1 BGN 108

-7.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$230 BGN 401

116.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$142 BGN 248

117.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$328 BGN 570

228.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$259 BGN 451

137.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$1,121 BGN 1,951

157.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$918 BGN 1,596

108.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$1,335 BGN 2,323

-74.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

2.85

152.63%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sliven: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Sliven

$142 18.4% 53.9% $167

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Sliven

$181 23.3% 12.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Sliven

$114 14.7% 29.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Sliven

$94 12.1% 0.2% $0.2

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Sliven

$168 21.6% 89.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Sliven

$34 4.5% 21% $9.2

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Sliven

$42 5.4% 170% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $230 in Sliven. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sliven pays 286% 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 Sliven. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $181, with Sliven cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇬 Sliven

🕒 Local time

04:42 4:42 AM

23:42 11:42 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

95,806

💱 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 = 70.79 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 Sliven 9,840 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Sliven

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 Sliven: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sliven is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 19% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 286% lower in Sliven. 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 $230 in Sliven. 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 $774 in Sliven – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sliven runs roughly 180% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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

For families, Sliven 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 Sliven 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 Sliven gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.