Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Stara Zagora

For one person, living is cheaper in Stara Zagora: $864 a month against $934 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $840 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Stara Zagora
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Stara Zagora Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Stara Zagora

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$864

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Stara Zagora

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $864 in Stara Zagora.

Cebu $934
Stara Zagora $864

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,415 in Cebu versus $1,394 in Stara Zagora.

Cebu $1,415
Stara Zagora $1,394

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,896 in Cebu versus $1,924 in Stara Zagora.

Cebu $1,896
Stara Zagora $1,924

Living in Cebu is roughly 8% more expensive than in Stara Zagora, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 30% lower, Stara Zagora 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.03 ₱190

$10.36 BGN 18.13

-70.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.48 ₱1,473

$50.8 BGN 88.8

-53.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 ₱256

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-53.47%

Cappuccino

$2.52 ₱158

$2.33 BGN 4.08

8.15%

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

$1.54 ₱96.9

$1.51 BGN 2.65

1.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ₱30.98

$0.88 BGN 1.54

-44.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₱112

$2.30 BGN 4.02

-22.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₱142

$2.00 BGN 3.49

13.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ₱122

$1.79 BGN 3.13

8.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 ₱89.7

$0.88 BGN 1.54

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ₱63.8

$1.45 BGN 2.54

-29.66%

Eggs

$2.06 ₱129

$2.37 BGN 4.14

-13.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.81 ₱615

$9.27 BGN 16.22

5.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 ₱289

$6.62 BGN 11.58

-30.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.70 ₱483

$8.59 BGN 15.04

-10.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱207

$1.32 BGN 2.31

150.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱90.9

$1.71 BGN 3.00

-15.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.76 BGN 3.08

34.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱96.4

$1.98 BGN 3.46

-22.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱148

$1.01 BGN 1.77

133.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 ₱125

$0.76 BGN 1.33

161.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ₱72.1

$0.54 BGN 0.95

112.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ₱42.15

$0.64 BGN 1.11

4.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱188

$3.79 BGN 6.64

-20.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.35 ₱398

$5.04 BGN 8.82

25.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₱81.9

$1.14 BGN 2.00

14.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱108

$1.71 BGN 2.99

1.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.78

$0.89 BGN 1.55

-71.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 ₱793

$18.61 BGN 32.56

-32.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.32

$1.31 BGN 2.29

-43.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.11

$0.64 BGN 1.12

-67.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 ₱271

$11.52 BGN 20.16

-62.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.5

$1.60 BGN 2.81

-16.88%

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

$21.8K ₱1.4M

$30.6K BGN 53.6K

-28.92%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$22.3K BGN 39.1K

-13.20%

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

$121 ₱7,563

$93.2 BGN 163

29.34%

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

$14.45 ₱907

$14.82 BGN 25.93

-2.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.29 ₱1,774

$12.33 BGN 21.57

129.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.68 ₱2,050

$26.49 BGN 46.36

23.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.39 ₱401

$21.22 BGN 37.14

-69.89%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱342

$8.66 BGN 15.16

-36.95%

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

$273 ₱17.1K

$234 BGN 410

16.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,156 ₱511.5K

$2,272 BGN 3,975

259.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.57 ₱3,109

$31.04 BGN 54.3

59.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.87 ₱1,560

$19.21 BGN 33.62

29.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,804

$63.9 BGN 112

19.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.3 ₱3,717

$51.7 BGN 90.5

14.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$506 ₱31.7K

$298 BGN 522

69.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$250 BGN 438

23.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 ₱66.0K

$494 BGN 865

112.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 ₱38.8K

$395 BGN 692

56.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,915 ₱182.9K

$1,449 BGN 2,536

101.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,867 ₱117.1K

$1,064 BGN 1,861

75.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ₱21.4K

$1,058 BGN 1,852

-67.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

2.99

140.80%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Stara Zagora: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.5%

Stara Zagora

$250 28.7% 19.1% $59

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.7%

Stara Zagora

$196 22.4% 6.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.7%

Stara Zagora

$120 13.8% 26.3% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$95 10.2%

Stara Zagora

$75 8.5% 21.2% $20

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Stara Zagora

$162 18.6% 83.6% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Stara Zagora

$44 5% 0.5% $0.2

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Stara Zagora

$27 3.1% 72.7% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $506 in Cebu and $298 in Stara Zagora. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stara Zagora pays 210% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Cebu vs $51.0 in Stara Zagora. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $196, with Stara Zagora cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇬 Stara Zagora

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

10:30 10:30 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

149,266

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Stara Zagora 9,910 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Stara Zagora

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 Stara Zagora: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stara Zagora is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 210% lower in Stara Zagora. 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 $298 in Stara Zagora. 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 $864 in Stara Zagora – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Stara Zagora runs roughly 47% 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 Stara Zagora gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Stara Zagora 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 Stara Zagora 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 Stara Zagora gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.