Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dunedin and Suva

For one person, living is cheaper in Suva: $927 a month against $1,821 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Suva
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Suva Living Index

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Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Suva

🇫🇯 Fiji

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dunedin and in Suva

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 Suva actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,821 in Dunedin versus $927 in Suva.

Dunedin $1,821
Suva $927

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,717 in Dunedin versus $1,681 in Suva.

Dunedin $2,717
Suva $1,681

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,613 in Dunedin versus $2,435 in Suva.

Dunedin $3,613
Suva $2,435

Living in Dunedin is roughly 97% more expensive than in Suva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dunedin is 36% above, Suva is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.73 NZ$24.50

$5.72 FJD 12.81

140.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 NZ$110

$44.13 FJD 98.8

39.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 NZ$20.37

$7.76 FJD 17.37

47.16%

Cappuccino

$3.23 NZ$5.75

$2.91 FJD 6.52

11.00%

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

$2.08 NZ$3.71

$1.50 FJD 3.36

38.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NZ$3.72

$0.73 FJD 1.64

186.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.85 NZ$12.22

$3.67 FJD 8.21

86.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.02 NZ$10.73

$4.33 FJD 9.70

39.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 NZ$3.88

$1.28 FJD 2.86

70.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 NZ$3.46

$0.56 FJD 1.26

246.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 NZ$3.12

$1.13 FJD 2.52

54.87%

Eggs

$5.83 NZ$10.40

$3.39 FJD 7.60

71.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 NZ$14.54

$10.04 FJD 22.48

-18.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 NZ$16.81

$6.06 FJD 13.57

55.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.55 NZ$29.52

$7.82 FJD 17.50

111.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 NZ$5.13

$2.47 FJD 5.54

16.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 NZ$4.17

$2.42 FJD 5.43

-3.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 NZ$5.52

$3.48 FJD 7.79

-10.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.04 NZ$9.00

$3.12 FJD 6.99

61.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.26

$1.22 FJD 2.72

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.29

$1.07 FJD 2.39

71.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.38 NZ$4.25

$1.22 FJD 2.73

95.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 NZ$0.99

$0.73 FJD 1.64

-24.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.93 NZ$37.33

$9.66 FJD 21.62

116.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 NZ$15.82

$7.33 FJD 16.41

21.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 NZ$5.65

$2.07 FJD 4.64

53.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 NZ$2.22

$3.43 FJD 7.69

-63.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 NZ$1.94

$0.94 FJD 2.11

15.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$68.1 NZ$121

$22.37 FJD 50.1

204.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.65 NZ$10.08

$0.87 FJD 1.94

549.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 FJD 0.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.97 NZ$49.88

$8.95 FJD 20.04

212.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 NZ$3.05

$1.46 FJD 3.26

17.12%

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

$25.1K NZ$44.8K

$24.4K FJD 54.6K

2.98%

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

$25.0K NZ$44.7K

$25.6K FJD 57.4K

-2.26%

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

$111 NZ$197

$46.38 FJD 104

138.59%

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

$28.28 NZ$50.4

$12.79 FJD 28.65

121.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.1 NZ$91.1

$23.98 FJD 53.7

112.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.05 NZ$85.7

$36.85 FJD 82.5

30.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.30 FJD 25.29

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 NZ$18.60

$3.43 FJD 7.68

204.08%

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

$591 NZ$1,054

$228 FJD 509

159.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K FJD 30.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.5 NZ$103

$33.19 FJD 74.3

73.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.52 NZ$61.6

$40.53 FJD 90.8

-14.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.9 NZ$166

$68.9 FJD 154

34.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 NZ$236

$61.4 FJD 138

115.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$876 NZ$1,562

$891 FJD 1,995

-1.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$751 NZ$1,339

$330 FJD 740

127.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,474 NZ$2,630

$2,641 FJD 5,913

-44.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 NZ$2,051

$1,001 FJD 2,241

14.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,320 FJD 2,956

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,256 NZ$4,023

$818 FJD 1,832

175.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,455 NZ$4,379

$961 FJD 2,151

155.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.07

7.7

-8.18%

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

Last update for Dunedin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Suva: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dunedin

$751 41.8%

Suva

$330 34.9% 56% $420

Groceries & Markets

Dunedin

$320 17.8%

Suva

$228 24.1% 28.7% $92

Eating Out

Dunedin

$246 13.7%

Suva

$140 14.8% 43.1% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dunedin

$190 10.6%

Suva

$83 8.8% 56.2% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Dunedin

$143 7.9%

Suva

$92 9.7% 35.6% $51

Getting Around

Dunedin

$78 * 4.4%

Suva

$29 3.1% 62.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Dunedin

$69 3.8%

Suva

$44 4.6% 36.6% $25

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 $891 in Suva. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 156% 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: $62.0 in Dunedin vs $44.00 in Suva for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $228 per month, with Suva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🇫🇯 Suva

🕒 Local time

19:16 7:16 PM

18:16 6:16 PM

1 h behind Dunedin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,000

100,000 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Fijian Dollar FJD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 EUR

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

FJD, 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).

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.398 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dunedin Suva 3,170 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dunedin
Suva

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 Suva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dunedin and Suva differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($1,821 vs $927 including rent). Suva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 156% 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 $891 in Suva. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Suva runs roughly 204% less than in Dunedin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $591 in Dunedin versus $228 in Suva. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $927 in Suva versus $1,821 in Dunedin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Suva but tight or insufficient in Dunedin. The gap between the two cities makes Suva 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 Suva 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 Suva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 97% less than in Dunedin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.