Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Varnamo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,692 in Varnamo, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Varnamo
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Varnamo Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Varnamo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Varnamo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Cebu versus $1,692 in Varnamo.

Cebu $934
Varnamo $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,423 in Cebu versus $2,672 in Varnamo.

Cebu $1,423
Varnamo $2,672

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,913 in Cebu versus $3,652 in Varnamo.

Cebu $1,913
Varnamo $3,652

Living in Cebu costs roughly 45% less than in Varnamo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cebu is 31% below, Varnamo is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.79 ₱242

$13.01 SEK 129

-70.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.33 ₱1,491

$89.7 SEK 891

-73.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.94 ₱252

$12.23 SEK 121

-67.78%

Cappuccino

$2.54 ₱163

$4.68 SEK 46.47

-45.73%

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

$1.57 ₱100

$2.72 SEK 26.99

-42.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 ₱29.82

$2.13 SEK 21.15

-77.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.77 ₱113

$7.81 SEK 77.6

-77.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ₱142

$7.08 SEK 70.3

-68.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ₱121

$1.71 SEK 17.03

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱87.1

$2.50 SEK 24.81

-45.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ₱59.8

$3.54 SEK 35.20

-73.45%

Eggs

$1.99 ₱127

$4.63 SEK 45.97

-57.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.70 ₱620

$12.57 SEK 125

-22.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.32 ₱276

$11.73 SEK 116

-63.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.51 ₱480

$15.69 SEK 156

-52.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱211

$3.11 SEK 30.92

6.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 ₱87.5

$2.55 SEK 25.31

-46.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ₱149

$2.82 SEK 27.99

-17.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱95.4

$4.52 SEK 44.89

-67.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 ₱147

$1.72 SEK 17.12

33.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 ₱120

$1.41 SEK 14.02

32.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₱70.3

$2.57 SEK 25.53

-57.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱40.36

$1.52 SEK 15.13

-58.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.86 ₱183

$7.81 SEK 77.6

-63.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.08 ₱389

$11.14 SEK 111

-45.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱81.4

$1.93 SEK 19.22

-34.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₱110

$2.64 SEK 26.25

-34.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱13.99

$3.19 SEK 31.70

-93.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱788

$74.7 SEK 742

-83.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱47.53

$5.04 SEK 50.1

-85.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱14.08

$1.08 SEK 10.71

-79.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 ₱273

$41.06 SEK 408

-89.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱83.7

$1.72 SEK 17.08

-23.84%

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

$20.8K ₱1.3M

$33.6K SEK 333.5K

-38.15%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$34.2K SEK 340.1K

-44.38%

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

$118 ₱7,565

$77.0 SEK 764

53.88%

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

$15.76 ₱1,007

$17.22 SEK 171

-8.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.33 ₱1,810

$30.45 SEK 302

-6.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.94 ₱2,105

$39.03 SEK 388

-15.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.49 ₱415

$22.33 SEK 222

-70.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.45 ₱348

$15.36 SEK 153

-64.52%

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

$276 ₱17.6K

$157 SEK 1,558

75.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,789 ₱497.7K

$4,450 SEK 44.2K

75.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.18 ₱3,078

$80.4 SEK 799

-40.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.47 ₱1,564

$56.8 SEK 564

-56.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.3 ₱4,810

$99.9 SEK 992

-24.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 ₱3,707

$123 SEK 1,223

-52.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$477 ₱30.5K

$794 SEK 7,889

-39.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 ₱20.6K

$612 SEK 6,075

-47.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 ₱61.5K

$1,178 SEK 11.7K

-18.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$626 ₱40.0K

$985 SEK 9,780

-36.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,551 ₱290.8K

$4,023 SEK 40.0K

13.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,028 ₱193.5K

$2,853 SEK 28.3K

6.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$333 ₱21.3K

$2,032 SEK 20.2K

-83.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

3.03

137.62%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Varnamo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$322 34.5%

Varnamo

$612 36.2% 90.1% $290

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$204 21.8%

Varnamo

$357 21.1% 75.1% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$163 17.4%

Varnamo

$125 7.4% 23.3% $38

Eating Out

Cebu

$94 10.1%

Varnamo

$269 15.9% 186% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$93 9.9%

Varnamo

$162 9.6% 74.9% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.7%

Varnamo

$70 4.1% 59.1% $26

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.6%

Varnamo

$98 5.8% 550% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $477 in Cebu and $794 in Varnamo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Varnamo pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Cebu vs $90 in Varnamo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $357 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇸🇪 Varnamo

🕒 Local time

23:19 11:19 PM

16:19 4:19 PM

7 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

19,778

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cebu Varnamo 10,200 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Varnamo

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 Varnamo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 81% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Cebu. 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: $477 in Cebu versus $794 in Varnamo. 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 $1,692 in Varnamo – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 83% less than in Varnamo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Varnamo 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 45% less than in Varnamo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.