Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Zărnești

For one person, living costs are similar in Cebu and in Zărnești: $915 and $889 a month, rent and utilities included.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index

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Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Zărnești

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $915 in Cebu versus $889 in Zărnești.

Cebu $915
Zărnești $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,418 in Cebu versus $1,383 in Zărnești.

Cebu $1,418
Zărnești $1,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Cebu versus $1,877 in Zărnești.

Cebu $1,921
Zărnești $1,877

Living in Cebu is roughly 3% more expensive than in Zărnești, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cebu 33% lower, Zărnești 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 ₱192

$9.00 RON 42.60

-66.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.00 ₱1,511

$42.40 RON 201

-43.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.99 ₱251

$8.36 RON 39.57

-52.27%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ₱157

$2.18 RON 10.34

14.68%

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

$1.54 ₱97.1

$1.46 RON 6.90

5.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.37

$1.20 RON 5.66

-58.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$1.90 RON 9.00

-6.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱136

$2.28 RON 10.79

-4.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.27 RON 6.02

57.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 ₱86.2

$1.07 RON 5.06

28.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ₱64.9

$1.44 RON 6.81

-28.47%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.79 RON 13.20

-27.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.20 ₱642

$7.89 RON 37.33

29.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$4.74 RON 22.42

-6.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 ₱483

$10.40 RON 49.21

-26.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 ₱208

$0.93 RON 4.41

255.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 ₱91.8

$1.33 RON 6.30

9.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$1.27 RON 6.02

82.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 ₱94.0

$1.28 RON 6.06

16.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 ₱147

$0.78 RON 3.67

200.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 ₱122

$0.52 RON 2.45

273.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.80 RON 3.80

45.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.89

$0.77 RON 3.63

-11.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 ₱188

$5.15 RON 24.37

-41.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱393

$7.42 RON 35.09

-15.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.3

$1.07 RON 5.08

14.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 ₱109

$1.29 RON 6.12

34.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.36

$0.70 RON 3.32

-67.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.34 ₱777

$21.32 RON 101

-42.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.96

$0.88 RON 4.15

-10.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱13.86

$0.86 RON 4.05

-74.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 ₱286

$7.45 RON 35.26

-39.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 ₱82.9

$1.51 RON 7.16

-12.58%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$28.5K RON 134.9K

-26.32%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$26.0K RON 122.9K

-25.30%

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

$119 ₱7,464

$99.0 RON 468

19.81%

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

$14.22 ₱896

$9.28 RON 43.89

53.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 ₱1,730

$8.00 RON 37.86

243.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.31 ₱2,034

$37.82 RON 179

-14.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.50 ₱409

$19.41 RON 91.9

-66.51%

Cinema Ticket

$5.40 ₱340

$6.24 RON 29.55

-13.46%

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

$276 ₱17.4K

$429 RON 2,031

-35.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,866 ₱495.3K

$7,733 RON 36.6K

1.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.37 ₱3,108

$44.43 RON 210

11.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.58 ₱1,548

$27.26 RON 129

-9.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,825

$68.9 RON 326

11.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.9 ₱3,706

$76.8 RON 363

-23.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$503 ₱31.7K

$434 RON 2,054

15.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ₱19.2K

$266 RON 1,258

14.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 ₱67.7K

$576 RON 2,727

86.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₱39.8K

$424 RON 2,008

48.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,870 ₱180.7K

$1,751 RON 8,283

63.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,877 ₱118.2K

$1,329 RON 6,288

41.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 ₱21.1K

$510 RON 2,415

-34.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

7.47

-3.61%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$305 33.3%

Zărnești

$266 29.9% 12.7% $39

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$210 22.9%

Zărnești

$182 20.4% 13.4% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$160 17.5%

Zărnești

$116 13.1% 27.5% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.3%

Zărnești

$98 11% 3.8% $3.5

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Zărnești

$148 16.7% 68.7% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$43 4.7%

Zărnești

$50 5.7% 16.7% $7.2

Getting Around

Cebu

$15 1.7%

Zărnești

$29 3.3% 93.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $503 in Cebu and $434 in Zărnești. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zărnești pays 52% 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 $42.00 in Zărnești. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $182, with Zărnești cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🕒 Local time

07:26 7:26 AM

02:26 2:26 AM

5 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

24,926

💱 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 Zărnești 9,850 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Zărnești

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 Zărnești: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zărnești is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Zărnești. 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: $503 in Cebu versus $434 in Zărnești. 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 $889 in Zărnești – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Zărnești runs roughly 73% less than in Cebu. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Zărnești gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Zărnești 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 Zărnești 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 Zărnești gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.