Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calgary and Port Vila

For one person, living is cheaper in Calgary: $2,223 a month against $3,148 in Port Vila, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Calgary
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Calgary Living Index
154

Cost of Living Index in Port Vila
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Port Vila Living Index

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Calgary

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,223

/mo nomad

Port Vila

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

$3,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Calgary and in Port Vila

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Calgary and in Port Vila actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Calgary versus $3,148 in Port Vila.

Calgary $2,223
Port Vila $3,148

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,301 in Calgary versus $4,290 in Port Vila.

Calgary $3,301
Port Vila $4,290

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,379 in Calgary versus $5,432 in Port Vila.

Calgary $4,379
Port Vila $5,432

Living in Calgary costs roughly 29% less than in Port Vila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Calgary 65% above, Port Vila 133% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.22 CA$24.34

$12.57 VUV 1,474

36.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 CA$100

$55.9 VUV 6,558

27.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.53 CA$14.89

$14.47 VUV 1,697

-27.23%

Cappuccino

$3.66 CA$5.18

$3.99 VUV 468

-8.27%

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

$1.98 CA$2.80

$2.30 VUV 270

-13.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 CA$2.74

$2.35 VUV 276

-17.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 CA$7.00

$5.14 VUV 603

-3.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.57 CA$7.87

$7.16 VUV 839

-22.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 CA$2.65

$2.73 VUV 320

-31.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 CA$3.78

$1.97 VUV 231

35.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.32 CA$7.52

$3.63 VUV 426

46.56%

Eggs

$3.79 CA$5.35

$6.30 VUV 739

-39.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.09 CA$15.68

$17.57 VUV 2,061

-36.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.36 CA$16.05

$16.60 VUV 1,947

-31.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.40 CA$26.01

$13.68 VUV 1,604

34.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.56 CA$6.45

$7.13 VUV 837

-36.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.04

$2.15 VUV 252

-33.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 CA$5.76

$3.86 VUV 453

5.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 CA$5.50

$9.44 VUV 1,107

-58.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$9.13 VUV 1,071

-71.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.73

$3.47 VUV 407

-23.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.50 CA$3.54

$2.58 VUV 303

-3.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$1.20 VUV 140

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.05 CA$19.86

$9.06 VUV 1,063

55.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.70 CA$22.20

$12.51 VUV 1,467

25.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 CA$3.45

$2.45 VUV 287

-0.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 CA$4.37

$2.70 VUV 316

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$1.29 VUV 151

118.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.6 CA$125

$68.6 VUV 8,052

29.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.12 CA$4.41

$2.57 VUV 302

21.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.35 CA$1.91

$0.88 VUV 103

53.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.02 CA$38.20

$5.19 VUV 609

420.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.64

$1.76 VUV 206

-34.09%

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

$27.9K CA$39.5K

$22.8K VUV 2.7M

22.19%

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

$20.3K CA$28.8K

$37.9K VUV 4.5M

-46.36%

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

$161 CA$227

$636 VUV 74.6K

-74.71%

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

$38.13 CA$53.9

$22.30 VUV 2,615

70.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.0 CA$70.7

$362 VUV 42.4K

-86.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 CA$72.8

$67.7 VUV 7,936

-23.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 CA$25.64

$16.93 VUV 1,986

7.15%

Cinema Ticket

$13.82 CA$19.54

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

$786 CA$1,111

$631 VUV 74.0K

24.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.5K CA$21.8K

$6,973 VUV 818.0K

121.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.3 CA$82.4

$41.45 VUV 4,862

40.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.27 CA$55.5

$67.0 VUV 7,856

-41.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 CA$127

$86.0 VUV 10.1K

4.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$102 VUV 12.0K

7.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,229 CA$1,737

$1,549 VUV 181.7K

-20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 CA$1,415

$1,120 VUV 131.3K

-10.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,921 CA$2,716

$3,413 VUV 400.3K

-43.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,621 CA$2,292

$1,886 VUV 221.3K

-14.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,549 CA$5,018

$5,917 VUV 694.1K

-40.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,335 CA$4,715

$2,162 VUV 253.6K

54.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,165 CA$4,474

$678 VUV 79.5K

366.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

6.18

-27.02%

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

Last update for Calgary: October 13, 2026

Last update for Port Vila: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Calgary

$1K 45%

Port Vila

$1.1K 35.6% 11.8% $118

Groceries & Markets

Calgary

$385 17.3%

Port Vila

$476 15.1% 23.6% $91

Eating Out

Calgary

$265 11.9%

Port Vila

$250 8% 5.5% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calgary

$249 11.2%

Port Vila

$1K 32.4% 310% $771

Clothing & Footwear

Calgary

$134 6%

Port Vila

$134 4.2% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Calgary

$110 4.9%

Port Vila

$81 2.6% 26.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Calgary

$79 3.6%

Port Vila

$68 * 2.2% 14.5% $11

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,229 in Calgary and $1,549 in Port Vila. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Calgary pays 367% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $71.0 in Calgary vs $56.0 in Port Vila. Groceries flip the comparison at $385 vs $476, with Calgary cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Calgary

🇻🇺 Port Vila

🕒 Local time

01:39 1:39 AM

18:39 6:39 PM

17 h ahead of Calgary

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,267,344

44,039 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Vanuatu Vatu VUV Vt

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD

1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VUV, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Vanuatu Vatu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 117 VUV (1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD). 1 EUR = 132 VUV (1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Calgary Port Vila 10,700 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Calgary
Port Vila

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

Calgary vs Port Vila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calgary is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. The 42% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 367% higher in Calgary, 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: $1,229 in Calgary versus $1,549 in Port Vila. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Calgary – a meal for two runs $71.0 versus $56.0 in Port Vila. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,223 per month in Calgary versus $3,148 in Port Vila – a 42% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,223 in Calgary versus $3,148 in Port Vila, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Calgary but tight or insufficient in Port Vila. The gap between the two cities makes Calgary the clear choice for anyone on this 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, Calgary and Port Vila 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 Calgary gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Port Vila. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.