Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sala and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $918 a month against $1,530 in Sala, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Sala
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Sala Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Sala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,530

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,530 in Sala versus $918 in Cebu.

Sala $1,530
Cebu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,260 in Sala versus $1,409 in Cebu.

Sala $2,260
Cebu $1,409

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,989 in Sala versus $1,900 in Cebu.

Sala $2,989
Cebu $1,900

Living in Sala is roughly 67% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sala is 13% above, Cebu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.75 SEK 116

$3.09 ₱194

280.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$58.6 SEK 581

$24.22 ₱1,525

141.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.45 SEK 93.6

$3.92 ₱247

141.07%

Cappuccino

$3.17 SEK 31.39

$2.51 ₱158

26.29%

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

$1.75 SEK 17.38

$1.59 ₱100

10.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 SEK 21.35

$0.53 ₱33.43

305.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.94 SEK 68.7

$1.78 ₱112

289.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.93 SEK 68.7

$2.17 ₱137

219.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 SEK 16.45

$1.92 ₱121

-13.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 SEK 25.16

$1.36 ₱85.4

86.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.48 SEK 34.45

$1.01 ₱63.5

244.55%

Eggs

$5.29 SEK 52.5

$2.03 ₱128

160.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.10 SEK 110

$9.86 ₱621

12.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.95 SEK 128

$4.39 ₱277

194.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.02 SEK 218

$7.60 ₱479

189.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 SEK 28.42

$3.30 ₱208

-13.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 SEK 26.39

$1.39 ₱87.8

91.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.59 SEK 25.65

$2.33 ₱147

11.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.79 SEK 47.50

$1.50 ₱94.3

219.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 SEK 14.46

$2.36 ₱149

-38.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 SEK 11.29

$1.90 ₱119

-40.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 SEK 25.51

$1.19 ₱74.9

115.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 SEK 10.02

$0.63 ₱39.71

60.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.88 SEK 68.2

$3.00 ₱189

129.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.10 SEK 60.5

$6.03 ₱379

1.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 SEK 18.76

$1.23 ₱77.7

53.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 SEK 17.47

$1.75 ₱110

0.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.90 SEK 28.75

$0.25 ₱15.86

1060.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.18 SEK 210

$12.64 ₱796

67.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.90 SEK 58.5

$0.77 ₱48.62

666.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.69 SEK 16.73

$0.23 ₱14.53

634.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$79.0 SEK 782

$4.46 ₱281

1670.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 SEK 17.13

$1.31 ₱82.8

32.06%

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

$32.5K SEK 322.3K

$21.2K ₱1.3M

53.13%

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

$33.1K SEK 327.9K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

72.84%

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

$177 SEK 1,752

$120 ₱7,569

47.04%

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

$19.96 SEK 198

$14.00 ₱882

42.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.76 SEK 384

$27.54 ₱1,734

40.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.97 SEK 456

$32.33 ₱2,035

42.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.24 SEK 201

$6.65 ₱419

204.36%

Cinema Ticket

$16.13 SEK 160

$5.65 ₱356

185.49%

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

$213 SEK 2,111

$275 ₱17.3K

-22.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,194 SEK 11.8K

$7,918 ₱498.5K

-84.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.45 SEK 440

$49.33 ₱3,106

-9.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.80 SEK 345

$25.24 ₱1,589

37.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.9 SEK 514

$77.0 ₱4,846

-32.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.0 SEK 535

$57.2 ₱3,601

-5.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 SEK 6,989

$500 ₱31.5K

41.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$501 SEK 4,966

$309 ₱19.4K

62.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$930 SEK 9,217

$1,078 ₱67.9K

-13.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$684 SEK 6,782

$615 ₱38.7K

11.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,018 SEK 39.8K

$2,886 ₱181.7K

39.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,838 SEK 28.1K

$1,917 ₱120.7K

48.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,422 SEK 24.0K

$346 ₱21.8K

600.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.8

7.2

-61.11%

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

Last update for Sala: 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

Sala

$501 32.8%

Cebu

$309 33.6% 38.4% $192

Groceries & Markets

Sala

$360 23.5%

Cebu

$206 22.4% 42.8% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sala

$236 15.4%

Cebu

$162 17.6% 31.3% $74

Eating Out

Sala

$225 14.7%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 60.7% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Sala

$83 5.4%

Cebu

$94 10.2% 12.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Sala

$78 5.1%

Cebu

$44 4.8% 44.2% $35

Getting Around

Sala

$47 3.1%

Cebu

$16 1.7% 67% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $705 in Sala and $500 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sala pays 600% 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: $59.0 in Sala vs $24.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $206 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Sala

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

12:15 12:15 PM

18:15 6:15 PM

6 h ahead of Sala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,994

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sala Cebu 9,960 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sala
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

Sala vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 67% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 600% higher in Sala, 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: $705 in Sala versus $500 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,530 per month in Sala versus $918 in Cebu – a 67% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 68% less than in Sala. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $918 in Cebu versus $1,530 in Sala, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Sala. 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 Sala, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sala 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 67% less than in Sala. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.