Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gizo and Nuku'alofa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,019 a month against $2,121 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index

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Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,121

/mo nomad

Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gizo and in Nuku'alofa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Gizo versus $1,019 in Nuku'alofa.

Gizo $2,121
Nuku'alofa $1,019

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,041 in Gizo versus $1,886 in Nuku'alofa.

Gizo $3,041
Nuku'alofa $1,886

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,960 in Gizo versus $2,752 in Nuku'alofa.

Gizo $3,960
Nuku'alofa $2,752

Living in Gizo is roughly 108% more expensive than in Nuku'alofa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gizo is 58% above, Nuku'alofa is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.15 SBD 25.40

$8.52 TOP 20.43

-63.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.5 SBD 456

$61.8 TOP 148

-8.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.76 SBD 127

$10.32 TOP 24.74

52.71%

Cappuccino

$2.76 SBD 22.25

$2.93 TOP 7.02

-5.80%

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

$1.26 SBD 10.17

$2.82 TOP 6.75

-55.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 SBD 10.10

$2.52 TOP 6.03

-50.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 SBD 20.61

$3.38 TOP 8.09

-24.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 SBD 20.43

$5.03 TOP 12.07

-49.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.29 SBD 26.57

$1.52 TOP 3.64

116.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 SBD 10.65

$1.07 TOP 2.56

23.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 SBD 11.32

$2.11 TOP 5.07

-33.65%

Eggs

$7.24 SBD 58.5

$4.97 TOP 11.91

45.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 SBD 69.8

$8.75 TOP 20.98

-1.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.33 SBD 51.1

$5.91 TOP 14.16

7.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.74 SBD 70.6

$7.82 TOP 18.75

11.76%

Apples (1kg)

$6.88 SBD 55.5

$2.79 TOP 6.69

146.59%

Banana (1kg)

$6.01 SBD 48.50

$2.71 TOP 6.49

121.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.33 SBD 51.2

$2.87 TOP 6.87

120.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.04 SBD 24.56

$3.68 TOP 8.82

-17.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 SBD 24.49

$3.16 TOP 7.57

-4.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 SBD 19.50

$2.65 TOP 6.34

-9.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 SBD 19.61

$2.28 TOP 5.46

6.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 SBD 10.77

$1.42 TOP 3.40

-6.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 SBD 34.49

$10.24 TOP 24.54

-58.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.57 SBD 102

$17.36 TOP 41.62

-27.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 SBD 15.24

$3.14 TOP 7.51

-39.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SBD 17.67

$3.41 TOP 8.18

-35.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.12

$2.14 TOP 5.12

-81.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.04 SBD 251

$41.65 TOP 99.8

-25.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 SBD 9.91

$2.05 TOP 4.92

-40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 SBD 19.76

$2.07 TOP 4.96

18.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.41 SBD 100

$41.16 TOP 98.7

-69.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 SBD 14.25

$1.47 TOP 3.53

20.41%

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

$20.6K SBD 166.3K

$5,817 TOP 13.9K

254.02%

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

$21.5K SBD 173.4K

$8,461 TOP 20.3K

153.77%

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

$756 SBD 6,107

$188 TOP 450

303.14%

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

$13.69 SBD 111

$22.27 TOP 53.4

-38.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$125 SBD 1,008

$123 TOP 294

1.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.41 SBD 149

$31.62 TOP 75.8

-41.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.05 SBD 48.87

$40.72 TOP 97.6

-85.14%

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 SBD 35.43

$40.75 TOP 97.7

-89.23%

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

$121 SBD 981

$157 TOP 376

-22.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,253 SBD 10.1K

$248 TOP 593

406.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.88 SBD 201

$14.35 TOP 34.38

73.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$92.0 SBD 743

$17.98 TOP 43.09

411.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 SBD 809

$20.42 TOP 48.93

390.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 SBD 731

$29.28 TOP 70.2

209.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$608 SBD 4,908

$619 TOP 1,484

-1.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$594 SBD 4,799

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 SBD 4,991

$831 TOP 1,992

-25.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,234 SBD 9,964

$560 TOP 1,342

120.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$86.8K SBD 700.6K

$418 TOP 1,001

20677.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$252 TOP 603

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$395 SBD 3,192

$680 TOP 1,630

-41.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.33

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

Last update for Gizo: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gizo

$895 40.9%

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6% 62.9% $563

Accommodation & Living

Gizo

$594 27.2%

Nuku'alofa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Gizo

$354 16.2%

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6% 17.6% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Gizo

$138 6.3%

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6% 73.3% $101

Eating Out

Gizo

$133 6.1%

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9% 36.9% $49

Getting Around

Gizo

$46 2.1%

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1% 35.9% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Gizo

$27 1.2%

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1% 316% $86

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 $608 in Gizo and $619 in Nuku'alofa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nuku'alofa pays 72% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $56.0 in Gizo vs $62.0 in Nuku'alofa. Groceries flip the comparison at $354 vs $292, with Nuku'alofa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Gizo

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🕒 Local time

21:43 9:43 PM

23:43 11:43 PM

2 h ahead of Gizo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,177

24,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.111 EUR

1 TOP = 0.417 USD

1 TOP = 0.372 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TOP, USD, EUR to SBD – Solomon Islands Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Dollar ($)

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 = 0.111 EUR).

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.4 TOP (1 TOP = 0.417 USD). 1 EUR = 2.69 TOP (1 TOP = 0.372 EUR).

USD to SBD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gizo Nuku'alofa 3,340 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Gizo
Nuku'alofa

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

Gizo vs Nuku'alofa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nuku'alofa wins on cost – living expenses run 108% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nuku'alofa the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Nuku'alofa. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $608 in Gizo versus $619 in Nuku'alofa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Nuku'alofa – a meal for two runs $62.0 versus $56.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,019 in Nuku'alofa versus $2,121 in Gizo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nuku'alofa but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Nuku'alofa 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, Gizo and Nuku'alofa 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 Nuku'alofa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.