Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roman and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $840 a month against $918 in Cebu, rent and utilities included – about $940 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cebu outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

41

Cost of Living Index in Roman
Learn more

Roman Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$840

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Roman 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 Roman and in Cebu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $840 in Roman versus $918 in Cebu.

Roman $840
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,393 in Roman versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Roman $1,393
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,946 in Roman versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Roman $1,946
Cebu $1,900

Living in Roman costs roughly 9% less than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Roman 38% lower, Cebu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.42 RON 49.30

$3.09 ₱194

237.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.99 RON 161

$24.22 ₱1,525

40.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.31 RON 34.59

$3.92 ₱247

86.48%

Cappuccino

$2.43 RON 11.49

$2.51 ₱158

-3.19%

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

$1.38 RON 6.54

$1.59 ₱100

-13.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 RON 5.03

$0.53 ₱33.43

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 RON 9.69

$1.78 ₱112

15.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 RON 10.29

$2.17 ₱137

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 RON 5.61

$1.92 ₱121

-38.02%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 RON 3.10

$1.36 ₱85.4

-51.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.75

$1.01 ₱63.5

41.58%

Eggs

$2.89 RON 13.65

$2.03 ₱128

42.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.55 RON 35.72

$9.86 ₱621

-23.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.72 RON 27.05

$4.39 ₱277

30.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.63 RON 40.85

$7.60 ₱479

13.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.07 RON 5.05

$3.30 ₱208

-67.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 RON 7.15

$1.39 ₱87.8

8.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 RON 6.71

$2.33 ₱147

-39.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 RON 8.30

$1.50 ₱94.3

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.39

$2.36 ₱149

-69.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.16

$1.90 ₱119

-53.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 RON 4.17

$1.19 ₱74.9

-26.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 RON 3.41

$0.63 ₱39.71

14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.62 RON 26.58

$3.00 ₱189

87.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.34 RON 25.25

$6.03 ₱379

-11.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 RON 4.59

$1.23 ₱77.7

-21.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 RON 5.61

$1.75 ₱110

-32.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.62

$0.25 ₱15.86

204.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.67 RON 103

$12.64 ₱796

71.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 RON 3.13

$0.77 ₱48.62

-14.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 RON 3.04

$0.23 ₱14.53

178.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.04 RON 33.30

$4.46 ₱281

57.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 RON 8.22

$1.31 ₱82.8

32.82%

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

$28.1K RON 133.1K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

32.43%

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

$25.1K RON 118.6K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

30.94%

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

$146 RON 691

$120 ₱7,569

21.43%

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

$6.96 RON 32.93

$14.00 ₱882

-50.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.80 RON 36.88

$27.54 ₱1,734

-71.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.11 RON 176

$32.33 ₱2,035

14.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.05 RON 94.9

$6.65 ₱419

201.50%

Cinema Ticket

$6.42 RON 30.40

$5.65 ₱356

13.63%

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

$295 RON 1,397

$275 ₱17.3K

7.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,901 RON 23.2K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-38.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.3 RON 456

$49.33 ₱3,106

95.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.51 RON 121

$25.24 ₱1,589

1.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.4 RON 290

$77.0 ₱4,846

-20.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 RON 274

$57.2 ₱3,601

1.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 RON 1,008

$500 ₱31.5K

-57.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$157 RON 745

$309 ₱19.4K

-49.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$605 RON 2,863

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-43.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 RON 2,146

$615 ₱38.7K

-26.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,862 RON 8,812

$2,886 ₱181.7K

-35.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 RON 6,413

$1,917 ₱120.7K

-29.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$820 RON 3,880

$346 ₱21.8K

137.03%

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 Roman: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Roman

$176 20.9%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 17.2% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roman

$161 19.1%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 0.6% $1

Eating Out

Roman

$159 18.9%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 44.4% $71

Accommodation & Living

Roman

$157 18.7%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 96.3% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Roman

$109 12.9%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 13.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Roman

$50 6%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 12.7% $6.3

Getting Around

Roman

$29 3.4%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 45.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $213 in Roman and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Roman pays 137% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34.00 in Roman vs $24.00 in Cebu. Groceries flip the comparison at $176 vs $206, with Roman cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Roman

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

11:27 11:27 AM

16:27 4:27 PM

5 h ahead of Roman

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,328

964,169

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

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).

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).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Roman Cebu 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Roman
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

Roman vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roman is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. The 9% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 137% higher in Roman, 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: $213 in Roman versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $840 per month in Roman versus $918 in Cebu – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Roman runs roughly 71% less than in Cebu. 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 Roman gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Roman 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, Roman 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 Roman gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Cebu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.