Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thessaloniki and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,643 in Thessaloniki, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Thessaloniki
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Thessaloniki Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,643

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,643 in Thessaloniki versus $934 in Cebu.

Thessaloniki $1,643
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,545 in Thessaloniki versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Thessaloniki $2,545
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,446 in Thessaloniki versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Thessaloniki $3,446
Cebu $1,896

Living in Thessaloniki is roughly 76% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Thessaloniki is 23% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.85 €15.02

$3.03 ₱191

456.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.3

$23.48 ₱1,476

183.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.00 €9.81

$4.09 ₱257

168.95%

Cappuccino

$4.30 €3.83

$2.52 ₱158

70.63%

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

$3.01 €2.68

$1.54 ₱97.2

95.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 €0.67

$0.49 ₱31.06

53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.76 €5.14

$1.79 ₱113

221.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.86 €6.12

$2.26 ₱142

203.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.95 ₱122

-9.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.43 ₱89.9

18.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.55 €3.17

$1.02 ₱64.0

248.04%

Eggs

$5.46 €4.87

$2.06 ₱129

165.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.95 €12.44

$9.81 ₱617

42.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.13 €9.92

$4.61 ₱290

141.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.27 €16.29

$7.70 ₱484

137.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 €2.22

$3.31 ₱208

-24.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.45 ₱91.2

53.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.36 ₱148

-10.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.81 €2.50

$1.54 ₱96.6

82.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 €1.15

$2.36 ₱148

-44.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.99 ₱125

-37.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.15 ₱72.3

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 €0.81

$0.67 ₱42.26

35.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.64 €5.03

$3.00 ₱189

88.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.00 €8.92

$6.35 ₱399

57.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.86

$1.31 ₱82.1

58.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 €2.87

$1.73 ₱109

86.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 €0.58

$0.25 ₱15.82

160.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.84 €15.91

$12.65 ₱796

41.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.29 €3.83

$0.74 ₱46.44

479.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.21 ₱13.15

423.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.55 €14.76

$4.33 ₱272

282.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 €2.08

$1.33 ₱83.7

75.19%

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

$27.8K €24.8K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

27.93%

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

$30.6K €27.3K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

57.99%

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

$217 €193

$121 ₱7,583

79.78%

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

$23.23 €20.71

$14.45 ₱909

60.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.69 €27.37

$28.29 ₱1,779

8.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 €46.09

$32.68 ₱2,055

58.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.72 €14.91

$6.39 ₱402

161.66%

Cinema Ticket

$10.50 €9.36

$5.46 ₱343

92.31%

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

$468 €418

$273 ₱17.2K

71.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,132 €8,142

$8,156 ₱512.9K

11.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.4 €85.9

$49.57 ₱3,117

94.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.70 €39.86

$24.87 ₱1,564

79.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 €110

$76.6 ₱4,817

61.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$59.3 ₱3,727

124.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$627 €559

$506 ₱31.8K

24.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$487 €434

$309 ₱19.5K

57.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,109 €989

$1,052 ₱66.1K

5.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$850 €757

$619 ₱38.9K

37.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,774 €3,365

$2,915 ₱183.4K

29.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,867 €2,556

$1,867 ₱117.4K

53.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,166 €1,040

$341 ₱21.5K

241.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.34

7.2

-25.83%

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

Last update for Thessaloniki: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Thessaloniki

$487 29.5%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 36.4% $177

Groceries & Markets

Thessaloniki

$331 20.1%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 36.5% $121

Eating Out

Thessaloniki

$277 16.8%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 68.1% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thessaloniki

$271 16.4%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 39.7% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Thessaloniki

$179 10.9%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 47.1% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Thessaloniki

$73 4.4%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 40% $29

Getting Around

Thessaloniki

$30 1.8%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 49% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $627 in Thessaloniki and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thessaloniki pays 242% 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: $66.0 in Thessaloniki vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Thessaloniki

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

09:28 9:28 AM

14:28 2:28 PM

5 h ahead of Thessaloniki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

790,824

964,169

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 62.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.54 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Thessaloniki Cebu 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Thessaloniki
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

Thessaloniki vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 242% higher in Thessaloniki, 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: $627 in Thessaloniki versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,643 per month in Thessaloniki versus $934 in Cebu – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 41% less than in Thessaloniki. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,643 in Thessaloniki, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Thessaloniki. 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 Thessaloniki, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Thessaloniki 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 76% less than in Thessaloniki. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.