Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalmar and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,907 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,907

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kalmar and in Cebu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kalmar and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,907 in Kalmar versus $918 in Cebu.

Kalmar $1,907
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,844 in Kalmar versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Kalmar $2,844
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,781 in Kalmar versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Kalmar $3,781
Cebu $1,900

Living in Kalmar is roughly 108% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kalmar is 41% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.70 SEK 146

$3.09 ₱194

375.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.0 SEK 704

$24.22 ₱1,525

193.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.27 SEK 102

$3.92 ₱247

161.99%

Cappuccino

$4.65 SEK 46.09

$2.51 ₱158

85.26%

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

$2.82 SEK 27.99

$1.59 ₱100

77.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 SEK 25.71

$0.53 ₱33.43

388.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.66 SEK 95.7

$1.78 ₱112

442.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.03 SEK 69.7

$2.17 ₱137

223.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 SEK 14.61

$1.92 ₱121

-23.44%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 SEK 29.83

$1.36 ₱85.4

121.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.92 SEK 28.97

$1.01 ₱63.5

189.11%

Eggs

$4.59 SEK 45.43

$2.03 ₱128

126.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.24 SEK 161

$9.86 ₱621

64.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.97 SEK 109

$4.39 ₱277

149.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.76 SEK 216

$7.60 ₱479

186.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.46 SEK 24.38

$3.30 ₱208

-25.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 SEK 26.06

$1.39 ₱87.8

89.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.40 SEK 33.69

$2.33 ₱147

45.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 SEK 42.33

$1.50 ₱94.3

184.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 SEK 16.12

$2.36 ₱149

-30.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 SEK 22.82

$1.90 ₱119

21.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 SEK 18.19

$1.19 ₱74.9

54.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 SEK 16.43

$0.63 ₱39.71

163.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.97 SEK 79.0

$3.00 ₱189

165.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.19 SEK 91.1

$6.03 ₱379

52.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 SEK 19.44

$1.23 ₱77.7

59.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 SEK 24.87

$1.75 ₱110

43.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.33 SEK 33.01

$0.25 ₱15.86

1232.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.6 SEK 759

$12.64 ₱796

506.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.70 SEK 96.1

$0.77 ₱48.62

1159.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 SEK 16.40

$0.23 ₱14.53

621.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$46.98 SEK 466

$4.46 ₱281

953.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 SEK 16.81

$1.31 ₱82.8

29.77%

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

$29.9K SEK 296.3K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

40.75%

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

$28.7K SEK 284.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

49.90%

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

$142 SEK 1,403

$120 ₱7,569

17.76%

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

$26.84 SEK 266

$14.00 ₱882

91.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.79 SEK 315

$27.54 ₱1,734

15.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.76 SEK 305

$32.33 ₱2,035

-4.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.42 SEK 262

$6.65 ₱419

297.29%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 SEK 145

$5.65 ₱356

159.65%

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

$138 SEK 1,367

$275 ₱17.3K

-49.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,914 SEK 48.7K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-37.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 SEK 501

$49.33 ₱3,106

2.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.32 SEK 419

$25.24 ₱1,589

67.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 SEK 791

$77.0 ₱4,846

3.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 SEK 998

$57.2 ₱3,601

76.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 SEK 9,056

$500 ₱31.5K

82.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 SEK 7,440

$309 ₱19.4K

143.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 SEK 12.8K

$1,078 ₱67.9K

20.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,107 SEK 11.0K

$615 ₱38.7K

80.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,041 SEK 40.0K

$2,886 ₱181.7K

40.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,682 SEK 26.6K

$1,917 ₱120.7K

39.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,878 SEK 28.5K

$346 ₱21.8K

731.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

7.2

-45.42%

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

Last update for Kalmar: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kalmar

$751 39.4%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 58.9% $442

Groceries & Markets

Kalmar

$377 19.8%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 45.4% $171

Eating Out

Kalmar

$288 15.1%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 69.4% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalmar

$200 10.5%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 19.2% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Kalmar

$123 6.5%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 23.6% $29

Getting Around

Kalmar

$108 5.7%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 85.6% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Kalmar

$60 3.2%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 27.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $914 in Kalmar and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kalmar pays 732% 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: $71.0 in Kalmar vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $377 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

04:52 4:52 AM

10:52 10:52 AM

6 h ahead of Kalmar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,170

964,169

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

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).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kalmar Cebu 10,090 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalmar
Cebu

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

Kalmar vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 108% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 732% higher in Kalmar, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $914 in Kalmar versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,907 per month in Kalmar versus $918 in Cebu – a 108% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 506% less than in Kalmar. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,907 in Kalmar, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Kalmar. 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 Kalmar, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Kalmar and Cebu 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 108% less than in Kalmar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.