Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Varnamo and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,692 in Varnamo, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Varnamo
Learn more

Varnamo Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

Jump to prices

Varnamo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,692

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Varnamo versus $934 in Cebu.

Varnamo $1,692
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,672 in Varnamo versus $1,423 in Cebu.

Varnamo $2,672
Cebu $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,652 in Varnamo versus $1,913 in Cebu.

Varnamo $3,652
Cebu $1,913

Living in Varnamo is roughly 81% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Varnamo is 24% above, Cebu is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.01 SEK 129

$3.79 ₱242

243.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.7 SEK 891

$23.33 ₱1,491

284.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.23 SEK 121

$3.94 ₱252

210.41%

Cappuccino

$4.68 SEK 46.47

$2.54 ₱163

84.25%

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

$2.72 SEK 26.99

$1.57 ₱100

73.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 SEK 21.15

$0.47 ₱29.82

353.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.81 SEK 77.6

$1.77 ₱113

341.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 SEK 70.3

$2.22 ₱142

218.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 SEK 17.03

$1.90 ₱121

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.50 SEK 24.81

$1.36 ₱87.1

83.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.54 SEK 35.20

$0.94 ₱59.8

276.60%

Eggs

$4.63 SEK 45.97

$1.99 ₱127

132.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 SEK 125

$9.70 ₱620

29.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.73 SEK 116

$4.32 ₱276

171.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.69 SEK 156

$7.51 ₱480

108.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 SEK 30.92

$3.31 ₱211

-6.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 SEK 25.31

$1.37 ₱87.5

86.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 27.99

$2.34 ₱149

20.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 SEK 44.89

$1.49 ₱95.4

203.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 SEK 17.12

$2.30 ₱147

-25.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 SEK 14.02

$1.87 ₱120

-24.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 SEK 25.53

$1.10 ₱70.3

133.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 SEK 15.13

$0.63 ₱40.36

141.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 SEK 77.6

$2.86 ₱183

173.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.14 SEK 111

$6.08 ₱389

83.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 SEK 19.22

$1.27 ₱81.4

51.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 SEK 26.25

$1.72 ₱110

53.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.19 SEK 31.70

$0.22 ₱13.99

1350.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.7 SEK 742

$12.34 ₱788

505.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 SEK 50.1

$0.74 ₱47.53

581.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.08 SEK 10.71

$0.22 ₱14.08

390.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.06 SEK 408

$4.28 ₱273

859.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 SEK 17.08

$1.31 ₱83.7

31.30%

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

$33.6K SEK 333.5K

$20.8K ₱1.3M

61.69%

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

$34.2K SEK 340.1K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

79.80%

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

$77.0 SEK 764

$118 ₱7,565

-35.01%

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

$17.22 SEK 171

$15.76 ₱1,007

9.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.45 SEK 302

$28.33 ₱1,810

7.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.03 SEK 388

$32.94 ₱2,105

18.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.33 SEK 222

$6.49 ₱415

244.07%

Cinema Ticket

$15.36 SEK 153

$5.45 ₱348

181.83%

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

$157 SEK 1,558

$276 ₱17.6K

-43.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,450 SEK 44.2K

$7,789 ₱497.7K

-42.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 SEK 799

$48.18 ₱3,078

66.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.8 SEK 564

$24.47 ₱1,564

131.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 SEK 992

$75.3 ₱4,810

32.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 SEK 1,223

$58.0 ₱3,707

112.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$794 SEK 7,889

$477 ₱30.5K

66.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 SEK 6,075

$322 ₱20.6K

90.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,178 SEK 11.7K

$963 ₱61.5K

22.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$985 SEK 9,780

$626 ₱40.0K

57.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,023 SEK 40.0K

$4,551 ₱290.8K

-11.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,853 SEK 28.3K

$3,028 ₱193.5K

-5.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,032 SEK 20.2K

$333 ₱21.3K

509.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.03

7.2

-57.92%

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

Last update for Varnamo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Varnamo

$612 36.2%

Cebu

$322 34.5% 47.4% $290

Groceries & Markets

Varnamo

$357 21.1%

Cebu

$204 21.8% 42.9% $153

Eating Out

Varnamo

$269 15.9%

Cebu

$94 10.1% 65.1% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Varnamo

$162 9.6%

Cebu

$93 9.9% 42.8% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Varnamo

$125 7.4%

Cebu

$163 17.4% 30.4% $38

Getting Around

Varnamo

$98 5.8%

Cebu

$15 1.6% 84.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Varnamo

$70 4.1%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 37.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $794 in Varnamo and $477 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Varnamo pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $90 in Varnamo vs $23 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $357 vs $204 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Varnamo

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

15:37 3:37 PM

22:37 10:37 PM

7 h ahead of Varnamo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,778

964,169

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Varnamo Cebu 10,200 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Varnamo
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

Varnamo vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 81% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Varnamo is about 6.1 times higher, 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: $794 in Varnamo versus $477 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Varnamo versus $934 in Cebu – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 83% less than in Varnamo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Varnamo 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 45% less than in Varnamo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.