Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuku'alofa and Fiji

For one person, living is cheaper in Fiji: $709 a month against $1,019 in Nuku'alofa, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. The total is higher in Nuku'alofa despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Fiji
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Fiji Living Index

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Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Fiji

🇫🇯 Fiji

$709

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nuku'alofa and in Fiji

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,019 in Nuku'alofa versus $709 in Fiji.

Nuku'alofa $1,019
Fiji $709

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,886 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,144 in Fiji.

Nuku'alofa $1,886
Fiji $1,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,752 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,578 in Fiji.

Nuku'alofa $2,752
Fiji $1,578

Living in Nuku'alofa is roughly 44% more expensive than in Fiji, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nuku'alofa 24% lower, Fiji 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.52 TOP 20.26

$4.32 FJD 9.67

97.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 TOP 147

$31.65 FJD 70.9

95.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.32 TOP 24.54

$6.54 FJD 14.64

57.80%

Cappuccino

$2.93 TOP 6.96

$2.50 FJD 5.59

17.20%

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

$2.82 TOP 6.70

$1.35 FJD 3.01

108.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 TOP 5.99

$1.05 FJD 2.34

140.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 TOP 8.02

$4.08 FJD 9.14

-17.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 TOP 11.97

$4.04 FJD 9.05

24.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 TOP 3.61

$1.25 FJD 2.80

21.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 TOP 2.54

$0.26 FJD 0.59

311.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 TOP 5.02

$0.85 FJD 1.90

148.24%

Eggs

$4.97 TOP 11.81

$3.08 FJD 6.90

61.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 TOP 20.81

$10.64 FJD 23.82

-17.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 TOP 14.04

$5.30 FJD 11.87

11.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 TOP 18.60

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 TOP 6.63

$1.30 FJD 2.92

114.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.71 TOP 6.44

$0.86 FJD 1.94

215.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 TOP 6.81

$1.83 FJD 4.10

56.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 TOP 8.75

$1.31 FJD 2.93

180.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 TOP 7.51

$0.70 FJD 1.56

351.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 TOP 6.29

$0.74 FJD 1.65

258.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 TOP 5.42

$0.88 FJD 1.96

159.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 TOP 3.37

$0.52 FJD 1.16

173.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.24 TOP 24.34

$10.95 FJD 24.51

-6.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.36 TOP 41.28

$6.19 FJD 13.86

180.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 TOP 7.45

$3.97 FJD 8.89

-20.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 TOP 8.11

$4.12 FJD 9.22

-17.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.14 TOP 5.08

$0.93 FJD 2.07

130.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.65 TOP 99.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.05 TOP 4.88

$1.12 FJD 2.52

83.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 TOP 4.92

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.16 TOP 97.9

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 TOP 3.50

$1.25 FJD 2.81

17.60%

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

$5,817 TOP 13.8K

$46.1K FJD 103.2K

-87.38%

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

$8,461 TOP 20.1K

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

$188 TOP 446

$53.5 FJD 120

250.94%

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

$22.27 TOP 52.9

$13.37 FJD 29.94

66.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 TOP 291

$17.80 FJD 39.86

588.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 TOP 75.2

$21.89 FJD 49.01

44.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.72 TOP 96.8

$4.42 FJD 9.89

821.27%

Cinema Ticket

$40.75 TOP 96.9

$4.10 FJD 9.18

893.90%

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

$157 TOP 373

$44.79 FJD 100

250.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$248 TOP 589

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.35 TOP 34.11

$19.42 FJD 43.48

-26.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.98 TOP 42.74

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.42 TOP 48.53

$30.25 FJD 67.7

-32.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.28 TOP 69.6

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 TOP 1,472

$680 FJD 1,523

-8.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$270 FJD 604

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 TOP 1,976

$1,095 FJD 2,452

-24.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 TOP 1,331

$610 FJD 1,366

-8.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$418 TOP 993

$1,289 FJD 2,886

-67.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$252 TOP 598

$1,293 FJD 2,896

-80.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$680 TOP 1,616

$538 FJD 1,205

26.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

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

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Fiji: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6%

Fiji

$85 12% 74.5% $248

Groceries & Markets

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6%

Fiji

$169 * 24% 42.2% $123

Eating Out

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9%

Fiji

$122 17.4% 33.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1%

Fiji

$30 4.3% 73.4% $83

Getting Around

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1%

Fiji

$4.8 * 0.7% 92.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6%

Fiji

$22 * 3.2% 39.4% $15

Accommodation & Living

Nuku'alofa

- * 0%

Fiji

$270 38.4%

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 $619 in Nuku'alofa and $680 in Fiji. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nuku'alofa pays 26% 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: $62.0 in Nuku'alofa vs $32.00 in Fiji for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $169 per month, with Fiji cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🇫🇯 Fiji

🕒 Local time

21:05 9:05 PM

20:05 8:05 PM

1 h behind Nuku'alofa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,500 Capital

92,043

💱 Currency

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

Fijian Dollar FJD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TOP = 0.421 USD

1 TOP = 0.375 EUR

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

FJD, USD, EUR to TOP – Tongan Paʻanga Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇴 Tongan Paʻanga (T$)

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.38 TOP (1 TOP = 0.421 USD). 1 EUR = 2.67 TOP (1 TOP = 0.375 EUR).

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.398 EUR).

USD to TOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nuku'alofa Fiji 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Nuku'alofa
Fiji

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

Nuku'alofa vs Fiji: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fiji is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 44% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Nuku'alofa, 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: $619 in Nuku'alofa versus $680 in Fiji. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Nuku'alofa. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,019 per month in Nuku'alofa versus $709 in Fiji – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $709 in Fiji versus $1,019 in Nuku'alofa, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Fiji but tight or insufficient in Nuku'alofa. The gap between the two cities makes Fiji 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, Nuku'alofa and Fiji 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 Fiji gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Nuku'alofa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.