Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cebu and Zepce

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,095 in Zepce, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. The total is higher in Zepce despite lower rent and utilities.

45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Zepce
Learn more

Zepce Living Index

Jump to prices

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Zepce

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$1,095

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cebu and in Zepce

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

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

Cebu $918
Zepce $1,095

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,409 in Cebu versus $1,585 in Zepce.

Cebu $1,409
Zepce $1,585

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in Cebu versus $2,076 in Zepce.

Cebu $1,900
Zepce $2,076

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.09 ₱194

$9.64 BAM 16.76

-67.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.22 ₱1,525

$29.10 BAM 50.6

-16.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 ₱247

$11.03 BAM 19.17

-64.46%

Cappuccino

$2.51 ₱158

$1.80 BAM 3.13

39.44%

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

$1.59 ₱100

$2.57 BAM 4.48

-38.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.43

$1.61 BAM 2.79

-67.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₱112

$2.49 BAM 4.33

-28.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 ₱137

$3.44 BAM 5.98

-36.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$1.38 BAM 2.39

39.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 ₱85.4

$1.17 BAM 2.04

16.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$1.57 BAM 2.74

-35.67%

Eggs

$2.03 ₱128

$2.85 BAM 4.96

-28.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 ₱621

$9.36 BAM 16.27

5.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.39 ₱277

$8.61 BAM 14.98

-49.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 ₱479

$13.67 BAM 23.77

-44.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ₱208

$1.86 BAM 3.23

77.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ₱87.8

$1.98 BAM 3.44

-29.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.23 BAM 3.89

4.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ₱94.3

$2.13 BAM 3.70

-29.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 ₱149

$1.02 BAM 1.78

131.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 ₱119

$1.41 BAM 2.45

34.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱74.9

$1.12 BAM 1.95

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₱39.71

$0.91 BAM 1.58

-30.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 ₱189

$3.91 BAM 6.81

-23.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 ₱379

$8.13 BAM 14.15

-25.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₱77.7

$1.01 BAM 1.76

21.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ₱110

$1.39 BAM 2.41

25.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.86

$1.29 BAM 2.24

-80.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.64 ₱796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.62

$1.70 BAM 2.95

-54.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.53

$1.16 BAM 2.02

-80.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 ₱281

$17.17 BAM 29.86

-74.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.8

$1.76 BAM 3.06

-25.57%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$30.0K BAM 52.2K

-29.19%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$21.1K BAM 36.6K

-9.07%

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

$120 ₱7,569

$158 BAM 275

-23.90%

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

$14.00 ₱882

$16.53 BAM 28.75

-15.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.54 ₱1,734

$36.87 BAM 64.1

-25.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.33 ₱2,035

$32.30 BAM 56.2

0.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.65 ₱419

$11.57 BAM 20.12

-42.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₱356

$2.89 BAM 5.03

95.50%

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

$275 ₱17.3K

$294 BAM 511

-6.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,918 ₱498.5K

$3,518 BAM 6,117

125.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.33 ₱3,106

$83.8 BAM 146

-41.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.24 ₱1,589

$35.52 BAM 61.8

-28.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 ₱4,846

$104 BAM 181

-26.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 ₱3,601

$142 BAM 247

-59.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ₱31.5K

$304 BAM 528

64.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₱19.4K

$259 BAM 450

19.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 ₱67.9K

$480 BAM 835

124.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$615 ₱38.7K

$323 BAM 561

90.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 ₱181.7K

$2,764 BAM 4,807

4.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,917 ₱120.7K

$1,856 BAM 3,228

3.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$346 ₱21.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

4.44

62.16%

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

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zepce: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cebu

$309 33.6%

Zepce

$259 23.7% 16.2% $50

Groceries & Markets

Cebu

$206 22.4%

Zepce

$242 22.1% 17.3% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cebu

$162 17.6%

Zepce

$211 19.3% 30.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Cebu

$94 10.2%

Zepce

$164 15% 74.9% $70

Eating Out

Cebu

$88 9.6%

Zepce

$168 15.3% 90.1% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Cebu

$44 4.8%

Zepce

$38 3.5% 12.7% $5.5

Getting Around

Cebu

$16 1.7%

Zepce

$13 * 1.2% 18.7% $2.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cebu and $304 in Zepce. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Cebu vs $29.00 in Zepce for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $242 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Cebu

🇧🇦 Zepce

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

06:09 6:09 AM

6 h behind Cebu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

964,169

7,500

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1 BAM = 0.575 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cebu Zepce 10,430 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cebu
Zepce

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 Zepce: 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.

You'd need roughly $1,377 in Cebu and $1,642 in Zepce 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: $500 in Cebu versus $304 in Zepce. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Zepce. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $918 per month in Cebu versus $1,095 in Zepce – a 19% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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 Zepce, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cebu and Zepce 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 Zepce. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.