Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Targu Frumos

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $915 a month against $1,030 in Targu Frumos, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Targu Frumos
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Targu Frumos Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Targu Frumos

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,030

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Targu Frumos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $1,030 in Targu Frumos.

Cebu $915
Targu Frumos $1,030

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $1,537 in Targu Frumos.

Cebu $1,418
Targu Frumos $1,537

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $2,045 in Targu Frumos.

Cebu $1,921
Targu Frumos $2,045

Living in Cebu costs roughly 11% less than in Targu Frumos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Targu Frumos 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$10.66 RON 50.4

-71.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$41.59 RON 197

-42.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$7.23 RON 34.21

-44.81%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$2.43 RON 11.51

2.88%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$2.03 RON 9.61

-24.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$1.91 RON 9.03

-73.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.17 RON 10.26

-17.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$3.13 RON 14.79

-30.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.19 RON 5.61

68.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$0.71 RON 3.35

92.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$1.80 RON 8.52

-42.78%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$3.39 RON 16.02

-40.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$7.58 RON 35.86

34.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$5.80 RON 27.42

-23.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$8.59 RON 40.62

-10.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$1.30 RON 6.17

154.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.61 RON 7.64

-9.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$1.55 RON 7.34

49.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$1.81 RON 8.58

-17.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$0.96 RON 4.55

143.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$1.02 RON 4.82

90.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.81 RON 3.84

43.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.69 RON 3.28

-1.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$5.60 RON 26.49

-46.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$5.38 RON 25.44

15.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$0.94 RON 4.43

30.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.23 RON 5.82

40.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$0.67 RON 3.16

-65.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$19.60 RON 92.7

-37.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$0.60 RON 2.85

31.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.69 RON 3.29

-68.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$7.07 RON 33.46

-35.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.75 RON 8.27

-24.57%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$28.1K RON 133.1K

-25.34%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$25.1K RON 118.6K

-22.60%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$147 RON 695

-19.24%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$7.49 RON 35.44

89.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$7.75 RON 36.69

254.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$42.38 RON 201

-23.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

$21.30 RON 101

-69.48%

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$6.25 RON 29.57

-13.60%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$586 RON 2,773

-52.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$5,001 RON 23.7K

57.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$96.1 RON 455

-48.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$32.20 RON 152

-23.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$60.0 RON 284

27.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$85.3 RON 404

-31.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$416 RON 1,970

20.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$311 RON 1,472

-2.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$672 RON 3,181

59.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$437 RON 2,069

44.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$2,074 RON 9,813

38.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$1,422 RON 6,729

31.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Targu Frumos: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Targu Frumos

$311 30.2% 2.1% $6.5

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Targu Frumos

$183 17.8% 12.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Targu Frumos

$162 15.7% 1.1% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Targu Frumos

$123 12% 30.7% $29

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Targu Frumos

$169 16.4% 92.6% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Targu Frumos

$55 5.3% 27.3% $12

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Targu Frumos

$26 2.6% 73.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $416 in Targu Frumos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $42.00 in Targu Frumos. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $183, with Targu Frumos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Targu Frumos

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

14:35 2:35 PM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

13,875

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Targu Frumos 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Targu Frumos

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 Targu Frumos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and leisure. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,372 in Cebu and $1,544 in Targu Frumos to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $503 in Cebu versus $416 in Targu Frumos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $915 per month in Cebu versus $1,030 in Targu Frumos – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 59% less than in Targu Frumos. 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 Cebu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Targu Frumos, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Targu Frumos 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 13% less than in Targu Frumos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.