Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Plymouth and Port Moresby

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Moresby: $1,469 a month against $1,821 in New Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index

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New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,469

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New Plymouth and in Port Moresby

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,821 in New Plymouth versus $1,469 in Port Moresby.

New Plymouth $1,821
Port Moresby $1,469

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,787 in New Plymouth versus $2,315 in Port Moresby.

New Plymouth $2,787
Port Moresby $2,315

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,753 in New Plymouth versus $3,161 in Port Moresby.

New Plymouth $3,753
Port Moresby $3,161

Living in New Plymouth is roughly 24% more expensive than in Port Moresby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: New Plymouth 35% above, Port Moresby 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.79 NZ$20.86

$7.76 PGK 33.97

51.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 NZ$118

$44.08 PGK 193

50.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.42 NZ$14.89

$5.61 PGK 24.55

50.09%

Cappuccino

$3.31 NZ$5.85

$2.54 PGK 11.13

30.31%

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

$2.10 NZ$3.71

$0.74 PGK 3.23

183.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 NZ$3.25

$0.69 PGK 3.00

166.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.25 NZ$9.28

$3.03 PGK 13.28

73.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.51 NZ$9.75

$3.68 PGK 16.10

49.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 NZ$2.58

$1.83 PGK 8.02

-20.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NZ$2.21

$1.50 PGK 6.55

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 NZ$2.86

$1.36 PGK 5.97

19.12%

Eggs

$5.35 NZ$9.47

$3.74 PGK 16.38

43.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.48 NZ$9.69

$8.93 PGK 39.08

-38.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.23 NZ$12.79

$4.94 PGK 21.64

46.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.60 NZ$20.52

$9.55 PGK 41.82

21.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 NZ$4.33

$4.41 PGK 19.31

-44.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 NZ$3.36

$3.27 PGK 14.29

-41.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 NZ$5.22

$7.28 PGK 31.87

-59.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.26 NZ$11.08

$6.46 PGK 28.27

-3.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 NZ$3.60

$3.08 PGK 13.49

-34.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 NZ$2.48

$2.99 PGK 13.10

-53.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 NZ$3.14

$2.35 PGK 10.29

-24.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 NZ$2.22

$1.33 PGK 5.82

-5.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.05 NZ$39.00

$6.51 PGK 28.52

238.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.41 NZ$14.88

$10.94 PGK 47.88

-23.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 NZ$5.14

$2.70 PGK 11.83

7.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 NZ$6.65

$3.53 PGK 15.43

6.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.70 NZ$3.00

$0.47 PGK 2.05

261.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 NZ$131

$22.74 PGK 99.5

226.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 NZ$6.39

$4.91 PGK 21.51

-26.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.72 PGK 64.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 NZ$2.92

$1.00 PGK 4.38

65.00%

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

$26.4K NZ$46.8K

$50.7K PGK 222.2K

-47.91%

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

$22.6K NZ$39.9K

$17.3K PGK 75.9K

30.24%

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

$127 NZ$225

$118 PGK 516

7.90%

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

$27.63 NZ$48.87

$20.84 PGK 91.2

32.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.97 NZ$84.8

$82.2 PGK 360

-41.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.55 NZ$75.3

$61.7 PGK 270

-31.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.19 PGK 97.1

Cinema Ticket

$8.00 NZ$14.14

$8.80 PGK 38.51

-9.09%

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

$669 NZ$1,183

$563 PGK 2,465

18.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K NZ$40.2K

$6,239 PGK 27.3K

264.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.6 NZ$109

$35.46 PGK 155

73.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.35 NZ$67.8

$33.95 PGK 149

12.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.7 NZ$155

$69.7 PGK 305

25.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 NZ$182

$96.3 PGK 422

6.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 NZ$1,612

$1,532 PGK 6,706

-40.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$853 NZ$1,508

$564 PGK 2,470

51.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,719 NZ$3,040

$2,874 PGK 12.6K

-40.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,542 NZ$2,727

$1,182 PGK 5,172

30.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,136 NZ$5,547

$2,085 PGK 9,129

50.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,566 NZ$4,539

$3,782 PGK 16.6K

-32.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,766 NZ$4,891

$427 PGK 1,870

547.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.93

12.17

-51.27%

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

Last update for New Plymouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Port Moresby: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Plymouth

$853 46.8%

Port Moresby

$564 38.4% 33.8% $289

Groceries & Markets

New Plymouth

$279 15.3%

Port Moresby

$320 21.8% 14.6% $41

Eating Out

New Plymouth

$212 11.7%

Port Moresby

$138 9.4% 35.2% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Plymouth

$203 11.1%

Port Moresby

$221 15% 8.9% $18

Clothing & Footwear

New Plymouth

$131 7.2%

Port Moresby

$106 7.2% 18.9% $25

Getting Around

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7%

Port Moresby

$41 2.8% 51.8% $44

Sport & Entertainment

New Plymouth

$59 3.2%

Port Moresby

$79 5.4% 35.5% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in New Plymouth and $1,532 in Port Moresby. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 548% 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: $67.0 in New Plymouth vs $44.00 in Port Moresby. Groceries flip the comparison at $279 vs $320, with New Plymouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🕒 Local time

10:49 10:49 AM

07:49 7:49 AM

3 h behind New Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,400

364,145 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

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Between locations

New Plymouth Port Moresby 4,240 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

New Plymouth
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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

New Plymouth vs Port Moresby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New Plymouth and Port Moresby differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($1,821 vs $1,469 including rent). Port Moresby is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 548% higher in New Plymouth, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in New Plymouth versus $1,532 in Port Moresby. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Port Moresby runs roughly 227% less than in New Plymouth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $669 in New Plymouth versus $563 in Port Moresby. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,469 in Port Moresby versus $1,821 in New Plymouth, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Moresby but tight or insufficient in New Plymouth. The gap between the two cities makes Port Moresby 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, New Plymouth and Port Moresby 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 Port Moresby gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in New Plymouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.