Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Honiara and Gisborne

For one person, living is cheaper in Honiara: $1,713 a month against $1,943 in Gisborne, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index
97

Cost of Living Index in Gisborne
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Gisborne Living Index

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Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,713

/mo nomad

Gisborne

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,943

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Honiara and in Gisborne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Honiara versus $1,943 in Gisborne.

Honiara $1,713
Gisborne $1,943

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,811 in Honiara versus $2,973 in Gisborne.

Honiara $2,811
Gisborne $2,973

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,908 in Honiara versus $4,003 in Gisborne.

Honiara $3,908
Gisborne $4,003

Living in Honiara costs roughly 12% less than in Gisborne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Honiara 26% above, Gisborne 43% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 SBD 53.5

$28.26 NZ$49.97

-76.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 SBD 491

$53.7 NZ$94.9

13.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.54 SBD 101

$9.03 NZ$15.96

38.87%

Cappuccino

$3.39 SBD 27.30

$3.44 NZ$6.09

-1.45%

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

$1.58 SBD 12.78

$2.07 NZ$3.66

-23.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 SBD 8.96

$1.94 NZ$3.43

-42.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 SBD 19.58

$6.22 NZ$11.01

-60.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.51 SBD 44.41

$5.76 NZ$10.18

-4.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 SBD 20.26

$1.76 NZ$3.12

42.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 SBD 12.20

$2.03 NZ$3.58

-25.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 SBD 13.27

$1.75 NZ$3.10

-5.71%

Eggs

$5.74 SBD 46.27

$5.93 NZ$10.49

-3.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 SBD 52.8

$8.14 NZ$14.40

-19.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.53 SBD 68.8

$9.69 NZ$17.13

-11.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.93 SBD 120

$14.19 NZ$25.09

5.21%

Apples (1kg)

$6.24 SBD 50.3

$2.65 NZ$4.68

135.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 SBD 21.53

$2.15 NZ$3.81

24.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.51 SBD 68.6

$2.97 NZ$5.25

186.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.79 SBD 30.54

$5.48 NZ$9.69

-30.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 SBD 15.90

$2.00 NZ$3.53

-1.50%

Onion (1kg)

$3.47 SBD 28.01

$1.47 NZ$2.60

136.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 SBD 11.83

$2.21 NZ$3.91

-33.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 SBD 8.29

$1.11 NZ$1.97

-7.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.22 SBD 34.06

$24.86 NZ$43.96

-83.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.40 SBD 83.9

$9.53 NZ$16.85

9.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 SBD 13.83

$3.53 NZ$6.24

-51.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 SBD 26.86

$2.95 NZ$5.21

12.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 SBD 2.86

$1.57 NZ$2.77

-77.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.03 SBD 202

$76.0 NZ$134

-67.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 SBD 9.91

$2.45 NZ$4.32

-49.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 SBD 9.91

$1.67 NZ$2.96

-26.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.30 SBD 99.2

$28.09 NZ$49.68

-56.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 SBD 10.40

$2.19 NZ$3.88

-41.10%

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

$18.9K SBD 152.1K

$30.9K NZ$54.6K

-38.88%

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

$34.5K SBD 278.1K

$25.2K NZ$44.6K

36.79%

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

$428 SBD 3,448

$103 NZ$182

316.36%

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

$26.94 SBD 217

$24.95 NZ$44.12

7.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$90.3 SBD 728

$48.54 NZ$85.8

86.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.99 SBD 298

$34.81 NZ$61.6

6.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.05 SBD 73.0

Cinema Ticket

$4.30 SBD 34.67

$11.38 NZ$20.12

-62.21%

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

$97.9 SBD 789

$664 NZ$1,174

-85.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,854 SBD 23.0K

$19.5K NZ$34.5K

-85.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.64 SBD 223

$59.3 NZ$105

-53.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$92.3 SBD 744

$35.00 NZ$61.9

163.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.6 SBD 779

$87.7 NZ$155

10.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 SBD 845

$95.5 NZ$169

9.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 SBD 7,029

$1,048 NZ$1,854

-16.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 SBD 3,499

$814 NZ$1,440

-46.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,849 SBD 14.9K

$1,871 NZ$3,310

-1.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 SBD 11.3K

$1,470 NZ$2,599

-4.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$85.5K SBD 689.3K

$5,477 NZ$9,685

1461.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$61.2K SBD 493.2K

$3,709 NZ$6,560

1549.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 SBD 3,478

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.67

5.57

181.33%

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

Last update for Honiara: October 19, 2026

Last update for Gisborne: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Honiara

$545 31.8%

Gisborne

$176 9.1% 67.7% $369

Accommodation & Living

Honiara

$434 25.4%

Gisborne

$814 41.9% 87.6% $380

Groceries & Markets

Honiara

$344 20.1%

Gisborne

$323 16.6% 6.1% $21

Eating Out

Honiara

$165 9.7%

Gisborne

$353 18.2% 114% $188

Clothing & Footwear

Honiara

$145 8.5%

Gisborne

$125 6.4% 13.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Honiara

$46 2.7%

Gisborne

$58 3% 26.3% $12

Getting Around

Honiara

$34 2%

Gisborne

$93 4.8% 175% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $872 in Honiara and $1,048 in Gisborne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Honiara vs $54.0 in Gisborne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $323 per month, with Gisborne cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Honiara

🇳🇿 Gisborne

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

05:03 5:03 AM

2 h ahead of Honiara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,600 Capital

37,300

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

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Between locations

Honiara Gisborne 3,720 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Honiara
Gisborne

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

Honiara vs Gisborne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Honiara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and transport. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,569 in Honiara and $2,914 in Gisborne to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $872 in Honiara versus $1,048 in Gisborne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,713 per month in Honiara versus $1,943 in Gisborne – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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

At $1,713 in Honiara versus $1,943 in Gisborne, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Honiara but tight or insufficient in Gisborne. The gap between the two cities makes Honiara 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, Honiara and Gisborne 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 Honiara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Gisborne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.