Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lae and Samoa

Name: Samoa
Address: WS

For one person, living costs are similar in Lae and in Samoa: $825 and $861 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Samoa
Learn more

Samoa Living Index

Jump to prices

Lae

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$825

/mo nomad

🇼🇸 Samoa

$861

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Lae is 34.2% cheaper than Samoa without rent, and 4.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lae is 27.2% cheaper than Samoa without rent, and 44.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.56 PGK 108

$48.12 WST 134

-48.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.0 PGK 219

$36.50 WST 102

37.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.52 WST 40.40

Cappuccino

$2.66 PGK 11.67

$2.98 WST 8.30

-10.74%

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

$0.79 PGK 3.47

$1.80 WST 5.00

-56.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 PGK 2.35

$1.34 WST 3.73

-59.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 PGK 14.33

$3.48 WST 9.68

-6.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 PGK 22.78

$3.62 WST 10.08

43.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 PGK 8.85

$1.80 WST 5.01

12.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 PGK 6.42

$0.84 WST 2.33

75.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 PGK 5.61

$1.85 WST 5.16

-30.81%

Eggs

$3.95 PGK 17.30

$4.39 WST 12.21

-10.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.51 PGK 41.69

$0.95 WST 2.64

901.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 PGK 38.70

$3.66 WST 10.18

141.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.71 PGK 46.93

$8.46 WST 23.56

26.60%

Apples (1kg)

$4.55 PGK 19.94

$4.96 WST 13.80

-8.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 PGK 12.18

$1.84 WST 5.11

51.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.04 PGK 26.46

$1.77 WST 4.92

241.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 PGK 6.64

$4.26 WST 11.87

-64.55%

Potato (1kg)

$3.49 PGK 15.31

$3.67 WST 10.21

-4.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 PGK 10.46

$1.07 WST 2.97

123.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 PGK 3.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 PGK 4.00

$1.17 WST 3.25

-22.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 PGK 28.83

$6.04 WST 16.82

8.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.02 PGK 52.7

$16.06 WST 44.70

-25.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 PGK 10.81

$1.80 WST 5.00

37.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 PGK 18.76

$3.65 WST 10.17

17.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 PGK 1.39

$3.66 WST 10.19

-91.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 WST 14.80

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.48 WST 15.25

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.58 WST 60.1

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 PGK 4.23

$1.11 WST 3.08

-13.51%

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

$18.04 WST 50.2

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

$18.43 WST 51.3

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.93 WST 100.0

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 PGK 1,951

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 PGK 1,141

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 PGK 5,228

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$611 PGK 2,677

$1,799 WST 5,007

-66.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$157 PGK 689

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

Last update for Lae: October 4, 2026

Last update for Samoa: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Lae

–

Samoa

$502 58.4%

Groceries & Markets

Lae

–

Samoa

$238 * 27.7%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lae

–

Samoa

$72 8.4%

Getting Around

Lae

–

Samoa

$47 * 5.5%

Accommodation & Living

Lae

–

Samoa

- * 0%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Lae

🇼🇸 Samoa

🕒 Local time

16:12 4:12 PM

19:12 7:12 PM

3 h ahead of Lae

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

250,948

200,010

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Samoan Tala WST T

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

1 WST = 0.359 USD

1 WST = 0.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

WST, USD, EUR to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

Samoan Tala exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.78 WST (1 WST = 0.359 USD). 1 EUR = 3.12 WST (1 WST = 0.32 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lae Samoa 4,570 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lae
Samoa

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

Lae vs other spots: cost of living compared

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