Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dunedin and Gizo

For one person, living is cheaper in Dunedin: $1,821 a month against $2,121 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Gizo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index
105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index

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Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dunedin and in Gizo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,821 in Dunedin versus $2,121 in Gizo.

Dunedin $1,821
Gizo $2,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,717 in Dunedin versus $3,041 in Gizo.

Dunedin $2,717
Gizo $3,041

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,613 in Dunedin versus $3,960 in Gizo.

Dunedin $3,613
Gizo $3,960

Living in Dunedin costs roughly 14% less than in Gizo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dunedin 36% above, Gizo 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.73 NZ$24.50

$3.15 SBD 25.41

335.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 NZ$110

$56.5 SBD 456

9.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 NZ$20.37

$15.76 SBD 127

-27.54%

Cappuccino

$3.23 NZ$5.75

$2.76 SBD 22.26

17.03%

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

$2.08 NZ$3.71

$1.26 SBD 10.17

65.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NZ$3.72

$1.25 SBD 10.10

67.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.85 NZ$12.22

$2.55 SBD 20.62

168.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.02 NZ$10.73

$2.53 SBD 20.44

137.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 NZ$3.88

$3.29 SBD 26.58

-33.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 NZ$3.46

$1.32 SBD 10.66

46.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 NZ$3.12

$1.40 SBD 11.33

25.00%

Eggs

$5.83 NZ$10.40

$7.24 SBD 58.5

-19.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 NZ$14.54

$8.64 SBD 69.8

-5.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 NZ$16.81

$6.33 SBD 51.1

48.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.55 NZ$29.52

$8.74 SBD 70.6

89.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 NZ$5.13

$6.88 SBD 55.6

-58.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 NZ$4.17

$6.01 SBD 48.52

-61.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 NZ$5.52

$6.33 SBD 51.2

-51.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.04 NZ$9.00

$3.04 SBD 24.57

65.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.26

$3.03 SBD 24.50

-39.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.29

$2.41 SBD 19.50

-23.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 NZ$4.25

$2.43 SBD 19.62

-2.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 NZ$0.99

$1.33 SBD 10.77

-58.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.93 NZ$37.33

$4.27 SBD 34.51

390.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 NZ$15.82

$12.57 SBD 102

-29.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 NZ$5.65

$1.89 SBD 15.25

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 NZ$2.22

$2.19 SBD 17.68

-43.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 NZ$1.94

$0.39 SBD 3.12

179.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$68.1 NZ$121

$31.04 SBD 251

119.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 NZ$10.08

$1.23 SBD 9.91

359.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 SBD 19.77

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.97 NZ$49.88

$12.41 SBD 100

125.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 NZ$3.05

$1.77 SBD 14.26

-3.39%

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

$25.1K NZ$44.8K

$20.6K SBD 166.4K

22.03%

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

$25.0K NZ$44.7K

$21.5K SBD 173.5K

16.61%

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

$111 NZ$197

$756 SBD 6,110

-85.37%

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

$28.28 NZ$50.4

$13.69 SBD 111

106.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 NZ$91.1

$125 SBD 1,009

-59.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.05 NZ$85.7

$18.41 SBD 149

161.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.05 SBD 48.89

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 NZ$18.60

$4.39 SBD 35.44

137.59%

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

$591 NZ$1,054

$121 SBD 981

386.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,253 SBD 10.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.5 NZ$103

$24.88 SBD 201

130.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.52 NZ$61.6

$92.0 SBD 743

-62.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 NZ$166

$100 SBD 809

-7.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 NZ$236

$90.5 SBD 731

46.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$876 NZ$1,562

$608 SBD 4,910

44.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 NZ$1,339

$594 SBD 4,801

26.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,474 NZ$2,630

$618 SBD 4,993

138.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 NZ$2,051

$1,234 SBD 9,968

-6.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$86.8K SBD 700.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,256 NZ$4,023

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,455 NZ$4,379

$395 SBD 3,194

521.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.07

16.33

-56.71%

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

Last update for Dunedin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Gizo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dunedin

$751 41.8%

Gizo

$594 27.2% 20.8% $157

Groceries & Markets

Dunedin

$320 17.8%

Gizo

$354 16.2% 10.6% $34

Eating Out

Dunedin

$246 13.7%

Gizo

$133 6.1% 45.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dunedin

$190 10.6%

Gizo

$895 40.9% 371% $705

Clothing & Footwear

Dunedin

$143 7.9%

Gizo

$138 6.3% 3% $4.3

Getting Around

Dunedin

$78 * 4.4%

Gizo

$46 2.1% 41% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Dunedin

$69 3.8%

Gizo

$27 1.2% 60.6% $42

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 $876 in Dunedin and $608 in Gizo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 521% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62.0 in Dunedin vs $56.0 in Gizo. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $354, with Dunedin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🇸🇧 Gizo

🕒 Local time

23:07 11:07 PM

21:07 9:07 PM

2 h behind Dunedin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,000

7,177

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.5 EUR).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.05 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dunedin Gizo 4,400 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dunedin
Gizo

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

Dunedin vs Gizo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dunedin and Gizo differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,821 vs $2,121 including rent). Dunedin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 521% higher in Dunedin, 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: $876 in Dunedin versus $608 in Gizo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dunedin runs roughly 119% less than in Gizo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $591 in Dunedin versus $121 in Gizo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,821 in Dunedin versus $2,121 in Gizo, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Dunedin but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Dunedin 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, Dunedin and Gizo 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 Dunedin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.