Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Subotica

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,095 in Subotica, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Subotica
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Subotica Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Subotica

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,095

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Subotica

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $918 in Cebu versus $1,095 in Subotica.

Cebu $918
Subotica $1,095

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,651 in Subotica.

Cebu $1,409
Subotica $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,208 in Subotica.

Cebu $1,900
Subotica $2,208

Living in Cebu costs roughly 16% less than in Subotica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 32% lower, Subotica 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$9.37 RSD 977

-67.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$33.62 RSD 3,505

-27.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$11.09 RSD 1,156

-64.65%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.95 RSD 204

28.72%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$1.90 RSD 198

-16.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.71 RSD 179

-69.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.50 RSD 260

-28.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$2.90 RSD 303

-25.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.34 RSD 139

43.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.12 RSD 117

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$2.03 RSD 212

-50.25%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.03 RSD 316

-33.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$12.20 RSD 1,272

-19.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$6.66 RSD 694

-34.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$12.69 RSD 1,323

-40.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.39 RSD 145

137.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.95 RSD 204

-28.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$1.42 RSD 148

64.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.17 RSD 226

-30.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$0.98 RSD 103

140.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$0.65 RSD 67.7

192.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$0.58 RSD 60.8

105.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.65 RSD 68.0

-3.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$4.12 RSD 430

-27.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$5.35 RSD 558

12.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$0.84 RSD 87.1

46.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$2.38 RSD 248

-26.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.11 RSD 116

-77.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

$33.89 RSD 3,533

-62.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.95 RSD 203

-60.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.21 RSD 126

-80.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$11.07 RSD 1,154

-59.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.83 RSD 191

-28.42%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.9K RSD 3.1M

-28.93%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$25.3K RSD 2.6M

-24.34%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$168 RSD 17.5K

-28.40%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$15.69 RSD 1,636

-10.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$37.29 RSD 3,888

-26.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$33.23 RSD 3,464

-2.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$9.23 RSD 962

-27.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$4.87 RSD 508

16.02%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$233 RSD 24.3K

18.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$43.37 RSD 4,521

13.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$21.88 RSD 2,281

15.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$92.7 RSD 9,660

-16.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$70.3 RSD 7,333

-18.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$420 RSD 43.8K

18.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$296 RSD 30.8K

4.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$600 RSD 62.5K

79.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$535 RSD 55.8K

15.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,445 RSD 254.9K

18.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,616 RSD 168.5K

18.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

$903 RSD 94.1K

-61.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.79

50.31%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Subotica: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Subotica

$296 27% 4.3% $13

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Subotica

$222 20.3% 7.9% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Subotica

$221 20.2% 36.6% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Subotica

$103 9.4% 9.4% $8.8

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Subotica

$164 15% 86.3% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Subotica

$43 3.9% 1.5% $0.6

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Subotica

$46 4.2% 198% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $420 in Subotica. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Subotica pays 161% 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 $34.00 in Subotica for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $222 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇸 Subotica

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

02:26 2:26 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

88,752

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Subotica 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Subotica

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 Subotica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 161% lower in Subotica. 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 $420 in Subotica. 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 $1,095 in Subotica – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 168% less than in Subotica. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,095 in Subotica, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Subotica. 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 Subotica, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Subotica 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 19% less than in Subotica. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.