Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gizo and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Gizo: $2,121 a month against $2,380 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Queenstown outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
Learn more

Gizo Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
Learn more

Queenstown Living Index

Jump to prices

Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,121

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gizo and in Queenstown

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Gizo versus $2,380 in Queenstown.

Gizo $2,121
Queenstown $2,380

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,041 in Gizo versus $3,738 in Queenstown.

Gizo $3,041
Queenstown $3,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,960 in Gizo versus $5,096 in Queenstown.

Gizo $3,960
Queenstown $5,096

Living in Gizo costs roughly 11% less than in Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gizo 58% above, Queenstown 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.15 SBD 25.40

$14.19 NZ$25.28

-77.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.5 SBD 456

$61.4 NZ$109

-8.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.76 SBD 127

$9.19 NZ$16.38

71.49%

Cappuccino

$2.76 SBD 22.25

$3.13 NZ$5.57

-11.82%

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

$1.26 SBD 10.17

$2.02 NZ$3.61

-37.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 SBD 10.10

$2.00 NZ$3.57

-37.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 SBD 20.61

$6.80 NZ$12.11

-62.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 SBD 20.43

$6.26 NZ$11.16

-59.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.29 SBD 26.57

$2.15 NZ$3.82

53.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 SBD 10.65

$1.94 NZ$3.46

-31.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 SBD 11.32

$1.71 NZ$3.04

-18.13%

Eggs

$7.24 SBD 58.5

$5.67 NZ$10.10

27.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 SBD 69.8

$8.10 NZ$14.43

6.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.33 SBD 51.1

$9.89 NZ$17.62

-36.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.74 SBD 70.6

$15.72 NZ$28.02

-44.40%

Apples (1kg)

$6.88 SBD 55.5

$2.87 NZ$5.11

139.72%

Banana (1kg)

$6.01 SBD 48.50

$2.25 NZ$4.01

167.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.33 SBD 51.2

$3.68 NZ$6.55

72.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.04 SBD 24.56

$5.27 NZ$9.38

-42.31%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 SBD 24.49

$3.41 NZ$6.08

-11.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 SBD 19.50

$1.84 NZ$3.28

30.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 SBD 19.61

$2.35 NZ$4.18

3.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 SBD 10.77

$1.89 NZ$3.37

-29.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 SBD 34.49

$27.36 NZ$48.75

-84.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.57 SBD 102

$8.90 NZ$15.85

41.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 SBD 15.24

$4.44 NZ$7.91

-57.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SBD 17.67

$6.40 NZ$11.40

-65.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.12

$1.44 NZ$2.56

-72.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.04 SBD 251

$119 NZ$212

-73.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 SBD 9.91

$2.59 NZ$4.61

-52.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 SBD 19.76

$1.87 NZ$3.32

31.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.41 SBD 100

$29.12 NZ$51.9

-57.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 SBD 14.25

$1.72 NZ$3.06

2.91%

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

$20.6K SBD 166.3K

$24.9K NZ$44.4K

-17.34%

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

$21.5K SBD 173.4K

$23.2K NZ$41.4K

-7.61%

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

$756 SBD 6,107

$112 NZ$199

576.32%

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

$13.69 SBD 111

$28.02 NZ$49.93

-51.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$125 SBD 1,008

$51.5 NZ$91.8

142.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.41 SBD 149

$54.3 NZ$96.8

-66.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.05 SBD 48.87

$26.80 NZ$47.75

-77.43%

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 SBD 35.43

$10.41 NZ$18.54

-57.83%

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

$121 SBD 981

$973 NZ$1,734

-87.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,253 SBD 10.1K

$7,592 NZ$13.5K

-83.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.88 SBD 201

$58.2 NZ$104

-57.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$92.0 SBD 743

$45.11 NZ$80.4

103.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 SBD 809

$90.3 NZ$161

10.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 SBD 731

$136 NZ$242

-33.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$608 SBD 4,908

$1,512 NZ$2,693

-59.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$594 SBD 4,799

$1,270 NZ$2,263

-53.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$618 SBD 4,991

$2,853 NZ$5,084

-78.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,234 SBD 9,964

$2,522 NZ$4,493

-51.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$86.8K SBD 700.6K

$7,599 NZ$13.5K

1041.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,285 NZ$9,417

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$395 SBD 3,192

$3,052 NZ$5,438

-87.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.33

6.12

166.83%

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

Last update for Gizo: October 4, 2026

Last update for Queenstown: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gizo

$895 40.9%

Queenstown

$191 7.9% 78.6% $704

Accommodation & Living

Gizo

$594 27.2%

Queenstown

$1.3K 52.5% 114% $676

Groceries & Markets

Gizo

$354 16.2%

Queenstown

$359 14.8% 1.4% $4.9

Clothing & Footwear

Gizo

$138 6.3%

Queenstown

$148 6.1% 7.2% $9.9

Eating Out

Gizo

$133 6.1%

Queenstown

$241 10% 80.8% $108

Getting Around

Gizo

$46 2.1%

Queenstown

$137 5.7% 197% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Gizo

$27 1.2%

Queenstown

$75 3.1% 177% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $608 in Gizo and $1,512 in Queenstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queenstown pays 672% 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: $56.0 in Gizo vs $61.0 in Queenstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $354 vs $359 per month, with Gizo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Gizo

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

23:10 11:10 PM

2 h ahead of Gizo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,177

15,450

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.111 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.501 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

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 = 0.501 EUR).

USD to SBD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gizo Queenstown 4,270 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Gizo
Queenstown

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 Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gizo wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Queenstown. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Gizo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 672% lower in Queenstown. 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 $1,512 in Queenstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Queenstown. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gizo – a meal for two runs $56.0 versus $61.0 in Queenstown. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,121 in Gizo versus $2,380 in Queenstown, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gizo but tight or insufficient in Queenstown. The gap between the two cities makes Gizo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Gizo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,121 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Gizo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Gizo and Queenstown 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 Gizo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Queenstown. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.