Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zagreb and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,750 in Zagreb, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Zagreb
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Zagreb Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
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Cebu Living Index

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Zagreb

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,750

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,750 in Zagreb versus $934 in Cebu.

Zagreb $1,750
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,611 in Zagreb versus $1,415 in Cebu.

Zagreb $2,611
Cebu $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,472 in Zagreb versus $1,896 in Cebu.

Zagreb $3,472
Cebu $1,896

Living in Zagreb is roughly 87% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zagreb is 31% above, Cebu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.46 €11.12

$3.03 ₱190

311.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.1 €56.3

$23.48 ₱1,473

168.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.30 €7.40

$4.09 ₱256

102.93%

Cappuccino

$2.55 €2.27

$2.52 ₱158

1.19%

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

$2.97 €2.65

$1.54 ₱96.9

92.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 €2.34

$0.49 ₱30.98

436.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 €2.95

$1.79 ₱112

84.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 €4.02

$2.26 ₱142

99.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.95 ₱122

-34.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.43 ₱89.7

16.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.70 €2.41

$1.02 ₱63.8

164.71%

Eggs

$4.00 €3.57

$2.06 ₱129

94.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.17 €13.54

$9.81 ₱615

54.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.00 €10.71

$4.61 ₱289

160.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.74

$7.70 ₱483

129.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 €2.06

$3.31 ₱207

-30.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.45 ₱90.9

18.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$2.36 ₱148

-12.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.50 €2.23

$1.54 ₱96.4

62.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 €1.21

$2.36 ₱148

-42.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.99 ₱125

-40.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.15 ₱72.1

2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.67 ₱42.15

101.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.91 €5.27

$3.00 ₱188

97.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.20 €9.10

$6.35 ₱398

60.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.31 ₱81.9

25.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

$1.73 ₱108

48.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 €0.54

$0.25 ₱15.78

144.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 €47.57

$12.65 ₱793

321.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.22 €1.98

$0.74 ₱46.32

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.28

$0.21 ₱13.11

580.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.01 €10.72

$4.33 ₱271

177.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.33 ₱83.5

39.10%

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

$28.4K €25.4K

$21.8K ₱1.4M

30.68%

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

$27.5K €24.6K

$19.4K ₱1.2M

41.93%

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

$218 €195

$121 ₱7,563

81.08%

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

$23.68 €21.13

$14.45 ₱907

63.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.14 €36.71

$28.29 ₱1,774

45.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.2 €44.75

$32.68 ₱2,050

53.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.69 €16.68

$6.39 ₱401

192.49%

Cinema Ticket

$8.76 €7.82

$5.46 ₱342

60.44%

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

$489 €436

$273 ₱17.1K

78.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.0K €8,926

$8,156 ₱511.5K

22.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 €95.0

$49.57 ₱3,109

114.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.58 €38.00

$24.87 ₱1,560

71.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.2 €85.9

$76.6 ₱4,804

25.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €96.5

$59.3 ₱3,717

82.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$861 €768

$506 ₱31.7K

70.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$309 ₱19.4K

110.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,459 €1,302

$1,052 ₱66.0K

38.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 €926

$619 ₱38.8K

67.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,152 €4,598

$2,915 ₱182.9K

76.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,551 €3,169

$1,867 ₱117.1K

90.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,984 €1,771

$341 ₱21.4K

481.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

7.2

-54.17%

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

Last update for Zagreb: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zagreb

$652 37.3%

Cebu

$309 33.5% 52.6% $343

Groceries & Markets

Zagreb

$318 18.2%

Cebu

$210 22.7% 33.9% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zagreb

$283 16.2%

Cebu

$163 17.7% 42.3% $120

Eating Out

Zagreb

$203 11.6%

Cebu

$88 9.6% 56.5% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Zagreb

$159 9.1%

Cebu

$95 10.2% 40.5% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Zagreb

$68 3.9%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 35.6% $24

Getting Around

Zagreb

$65 3.7%

Cebu

$15 1.7% 76.3% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $861 in Zagreb and $506 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zagreb pays 482% 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: $63.0 in Zagreb vs $23.00 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $210 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇷 Zagreb

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

09:28 9:28 AM

15:28 3:28 PM

6 h ahead of Zagreb

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

767,131 Capital

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 = 62.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.35 PHP (100 PHP = 1.42 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zagreb Cebu 10,540 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Zagreb
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

Zagreb vs Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 482% higher in Zagreb, 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: $861 in Zagreb versus $506 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,750 per month in Zagreb versus $934 in Cebu – a 87% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 321% less than in Zagreb. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $934 in Cebu versus $1,750 in Zagreb, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cebu but tight or insufficient in Zagreb. 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 Zagreb, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Zagreb 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 87% less than in Zagreb. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.