Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gizo and Whakatane

For one person, living is cheaper in Whakatane: $1,775 a month against $2,164 in Gizo, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Gizo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

105

Cost of Living Index in Gizo
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Gizo Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Whakatane
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Whakatane Living Index

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Gizo

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$2,164

/mo nomad

Whakatane

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gizo and in Whakatane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,164 in Gizo versus $1,775 in Whakatane.

Gizo $2,164
Whakatane $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,051 in Gizo versus $2,684 in Whakatane.

Gizo $3,051
Whakatane $2,684

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,938 in Gizo versus $3,594 in Whakatane.

Gizo $3,938
Whakatane $3,594

Living in Gizo is roughly 22% more expensive than in Whakatane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gizo 60% above, Whakatane 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 SBD 24.25

$13.79 NZ$24.39

-78.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 SBD 441

$67.1 NZ$119

-18.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.57 SBD 126

$8.84 NZ$15.63

76.13%

Cappuccino

$2.85 SBD 22.95

$3.10 NZ$5.48

-8.06%

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

$1.26 SBD 10.13

$2.00 NZ$3.54

-37.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 SBD 9.79

$1.75 NZ$3.09

-30.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 SBD 19.88

$6.06 NZ$10.73

-59.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 SBD 19.41

$6.01 NZ$10.63

-59.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.27 SBD 26.35

$1.93 NZ$3.41

69.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 SBD 11.19

$0.98 NZ$1.74

41.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 SBD 11.30

$1.86 NZ$3.29

-24.73%

Eggs

$7.24 SBD 58.4

$5.58 NZ$9.87

29.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.47 SBD 68.3

$8.34 NZ$14.75

1.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.20 SBD 50.0

$8.45 NZ$14.95

-26.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.41 SBD 67.8

$15.54 NZ$27.48

-45.88%

Apples (1kg)

$6.88 SBD 55.5

$2.42 NZ$4.28

184.30%

Banana (1kg)

$6.34 SBD 51.1

$2.16 NZ$3.82

193.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.06 SBD 48.84

$2.88 NZ$5.10

110.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 SBD 24.32

$5.87 NZ$10.38

-48.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.07 SBD 24.74

$2.04 NZ$3.60

50.49%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 SBD 19.45

$1.56 NZ$2.76

54.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.53 SBD 20.39

$2.04 NZ$3.62

24.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 SBD 10.79

$1.08 NZ$1.90

24.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.25 SBD 34.29

$27.44 NZ$48.52

-84.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.36 SBD 99.6

$8.54 NZ$15.10

44.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 SBD 14.77

$1.41 NZ$2.49

29.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 SBD 17.66

$1.11 NZ$1.96

97.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.11

$1.51 NZ$2.66

-74.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 SBD 253

$83.7 NZ$148

-62.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 SBD 10.09

$2.30 NZ$4.07

-45.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 SBD 19.56

$1.94 NZ$3.43

25.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.52 SBD 101

$32.44 NZ$57.4

-61.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SBD 14.10

$1.58 NZ$2.79

10.76%

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

$20.7K SBD 166.9K

$24.7K NZ$43.7K

-16.11%

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

$21.9K SBD 176.9K

$9,072 NZ$16.0K

141.93%

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

$750 SBD 6,048

$116 NZ$206

544.54%

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

$13.42 SBD 108

$26.75 NZ$47.30

-49.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 SBD 989

$41.24 NZ$72.9

197.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.49 SBD 149

$38.19 NZ$67.5

-51.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.14 SBD 49.54

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 SBD 33.87

$8.61 NZ$15.23

-51.22%

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

$126 SBD 1,014

$1,123 NZ$1,986

-88.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,242 SBD 10.0K

$19.4K NZ$34.2K

-93.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.29 SBD 204

$66.4 NZ$117

-61.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.4 SBD 761

$39.67 NZ$70.2

137.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 SBD 804

$83.7 NZ$148

19.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.6 SBD 730

$72.0 NZ$127

25.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 SBD 4,833

$1,102 NZ$1,950

-45.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$580 SBD 4,678

$788 NZ$1,394

-26.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$630 SBD 5,081

$1,611 NZ$2,849

-60.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 SBD 9,809

$1,306 NZ$2,310

-6.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$85.9K SBD 692.3K

$4,734 NZ$8,373

1713.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,330 NZ$5,890

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$389 SBD 3,140

$3,884 NZ$6,868

-89.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.33

5.37

204.10%

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

Last update for Gizo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Whakatane: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gizo

$886 41%

Whakatane

$184 10.4% 79.2% $702

Accommodation & Living

Gizo

$580 26.8%

Whakatane

$788 44.4% 35.9% $208

Groceries & Markets

Gizo

$353 16.3%

Whakatane

$295 16.6% 16.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Gizo

$139 6.5%

Whakatane

$118 6.6% 15.6% $22

Eating Out

Gizo

$132 6.1%

Whakatane

$231 13% 75.4% $99

Getting Around

Gizo

$46 2.1%

Whakatane

$102 5.7% 120% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Gizo

$27 1.2%

Whakatane

$55 3.1% 106% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $599 in Gizo and $1,102 in Whakatane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Whakatane pays 897% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Gizo vs $67.0 in Whakatane. Groceries flip the comparison at $353 vs $295, with Whakatane cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Gizo

🇳🇿 Whakatane

🕒 Local time

09:58 9:58 AM

11:58 11:58 AM

2 h ahead of Gizo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,177

16,700

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 8.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to SBD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gizo Whakatane 3,890 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Gizo
Whakatane

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 Whakatane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Whakatane wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Gizo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Whakatane the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 897% lower in Whakatane. 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: $599 in Gizo versus $1,102 in Whakatane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Gizo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Whakatane – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $55.0 in Gizo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,775 in Whakatane versus $2,164 in Gizo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Whakatane but tight or insufficient in Gizo. The gap between the two cities makes Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Gizo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.