Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Honiara and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Honiara: $1,742 a month against $2,380 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
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Queenstown Living Index

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Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,742

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Honiara 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 Honiara and in Queenstown actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,742 per month in Honiara vs $2,380 in Queenstown, rent included.

Honiara $1,742
Queenstown $2,380

A couple spends around $2,873 per month in Honiara vs $3,738 in Queenstown, rent included.

Honiara $2,873
Queenstown $3,738

A family of three spends $4,004 per month in Honiara vs $5,096 in Queenstown, rent included.

Honiara $4,004
Queenstown $5,096

Honiara is about 27% cheaper than Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Honiara and Queenstown sit above the global median – Honiara by 30%, Queenstown by 78%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.66 SBD 53.8

$14.19 NZ$25.28

-53.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.8 SBD 507

$61.4 NZ$109

2.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.53 SBD 101

$9.19 NZ$16.38

36.34%

Cappuccino

$3.48 SBD 28.14

$3.13 NZ$5.57

11.18%

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

$1.60 SBD 12.89

$2.02 NZ$3.61

-20.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 SBD 8.49

$2.00 NZ$3.57

-47.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 SBD 19.58

$6.80 NZ$12.11

-64.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 SBD 46.04

$6.26 NZ$11.16

-8.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.57 SBD 20.75

$2.15 NZ$3.82

19.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 SBD 12.00

$1.94 NZ$3.46

-23.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 SBD 13.28

$1.71 NZ$3.04

-4.09%

Eggs

$5.48 SBD 44.27

$5.67 NZ$10.10

-3.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.61 SBD 53.4

$8.10 NZ$14.43

-18.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.34 SBD 67.4

$9.89 NZ$17.62

-15.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.18 SBD 123

$15.72 NZ$28.02

-3.44%

Apples (1kg)

$6.39 SBD 51.6

$2.87 NZ$5.11

122.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 SBD 21.83

$2.25 NZ$4.01

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.70 SBD 70.2

$3.68 NZ$6.55

136.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.67 SBD 29.62

$5.27 NZ$9.38

-30.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 SBD 16.09

$3.41 NZ$6.08

-41.64%

Onion (1kg)

$3.47 SBD 28.01

$1.84 NZ$3.28

88.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 SBD 11.30

$2.35 NZ$4.18

-40.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 SBD 8.36

$1.89 NZ$3.37

-45.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 SBD 34.39

$27.36 NZ$48.75

-84.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.37 SBD 83.7

$8.90 NZ$15.85

16.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 SBD 13.67

$4.44 NZ$7.91

-61.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.47 SBD 28.00

$6.40 NZ$11.40

-45.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 SBD 3.12

$1.44 NZ$2.56

-72.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.14 SBD 203

$119 NZ$212

-78.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 SBD 10.28

$2.59 NZ$4.61

-50.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 SBD 9.72

$1.87 NZ$3.32

-35.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.60 SBD 102

$29.12 NZ$51.9

-56.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 SBD 10.92

$1.72 NZ$3.06

-21.51%

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

$18.7K SBD 151.1K

$24.9K NZ$44.4K

-24.91%

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

$34.1K SBD 275.7K

$23.2K NZ$41.4K

46.94%

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

$429 SBD 3,464

$112 NZ$199

283.64%

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

$27.02 SBD 218

$28.02 NZ$49.93

-3.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.0 SBD 719

$51.5 NZ$91.8

72.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.76 SBD 297

$54.3 NZ$96.8

-32.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.94 SBD 72.2

$26.80 NZ$47.75

-66.64%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 SBD 35.65

$10.41 NZ$18.54

-57.64%

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

$100 SBD 811

$973 NZ$1,734

-89.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,898 SBD 23.4K

$7,592 NZ$13.5K

-61.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.71 SBD 224

$58.2 NZ$104

-52.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$93.5 SBD 755

$45.11 NZ$80.4

107.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 SBD 774

$90.3 NZ$161

6.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 SBD 829

$136 NZ$242

-24.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$870 SBD 7,024

$1,512 NZ$2,693

-42.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 SBD 3,507

$1,270 NZ$2,263

-65.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,851 SBD 14.9K

$2,853 NZ$5,084

-35.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,398 SBD 11.3K

$2,522 NZ$4,493

-44.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$86.4K SBD 698.0K

$7,599 NZ$13.5K

1037.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$62.1K SBD 501.2K

$5,285 NZ$9,417

1074.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$444 SBD 3,583

$3,052 NZ$5,438

-85.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.67

6.12

156.05%

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

Last update for Honiara: October 3, 2026

Last update for Queenstown: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Honiara

$545 31.8%

Queenstown

$191 7.9% 64.9% $354

Accommodation & Living

Honiara

$434 25.3%

Queenstown

$1.3K 52.5% 192% $836

Groceries & Markets

Honiara

$345 20.1%

Queenstown

$359 14.8% 4.2% $14

Eating Out

Honiara

$167 9.7%

Queenstown

$241 10% 44.6% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Honiara

$144 8.4%

Queenstown

$148 6.1% 3% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Honiara

$46 2.7%

Queenstown

$75 3.1% 64.8% $30

Getting Around

Honiara

$34 2%

Queenstown

$137 5.7% 303% $103

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $870 in Honiara versus $1,512 in Queenstown. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 588% higher in Queenstown, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Honiara versus $61.0 in Queenstown. Groceries tell a different story – $345 in Honiara vs $359 in Queenstown – so Honiara wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇸🇧 Honiara

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

17:28 5:28 PM

19:28 7:28 PM

2 h ahead of Honiara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,600 Capital

15,450

💱 Currency

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 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 = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 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 = 0.5 EUR).

USD to SBD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Honiara Queenstown 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Honiara
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

Honiara vs Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,742 in Honiara, $2,380 in Queenstown – roughly 37% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,614 per month in Honiara and $3,570 in Queenstown. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Honiara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 4% more in Queenstown, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63.0 in Honiara and $61.0 in Queenstown. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Honiara, where all-in costs run around $1,742, than in Queenstown at $2,380. In Honiara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Queenstown it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Honiara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,742 in Honiara to $2,380 in Queenstown. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Honiara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Queenstown makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.