Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuku'alofa and Honiara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,019 a month against $1,742 in Honiara, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index

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Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,742

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Honiara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,019 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $1,742 in Honiara, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $1,019
Honiara $1,742

A couple spends around $1,886 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $2,873 in Honiara, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $1,886
Honiara $2,873

A family of three spends $2,752 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $4,004 in Honiara, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $2,752
Honiara $4,004

Nuku'alofa is about 42% cheaper than Honiara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Nuku'alofa sits 24% below the global median, while Honiara is 30% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.52 TOP 20.26

$6.66 SBD 53.8

27.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 TOP 147

$62.8 SBD 507

-1.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.32 TOP 24.54

$12.53 SBD 101

-17.64%

Cappuccino

$2.93 TOP 6.96

$3.48 SBD 28.15

-15.80%

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

$2.82 TOP 6.70

$1.60 SBD 12.90

76.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 TOP 5.99

$1.05 SBD 8.49

140.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 TOP 8.02

$2.42 SBD 19.59

39.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 TOP 11.97

$5.70 SBD 46.05

-11.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 TOP 3.61

$2.57 SBD 20.76

-40.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 TOP 2.54

$1.49 SBD 12.00

-28.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 TOP 5.02

$1.64 SBD 13.29

28.66%

Eggs

$4.97 TOP 11.81

$5.48 SBD 44.29

-9.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 TOP 20.81

$6.61 SBD 53.4

32.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 TOP 14.04

$8.34 SBD 67.4

-29.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 TOP 18.60

$15.18 SBD 123

-48.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 TOP 6.63

$6.39 SBD 51.7

-56.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.71 TOP 6.44

$2.70 SBD 21.84

0.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 TOP 6.81

$8.70 SBD 70.3

-67.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 TOP 8.75

$3.67 SBD 29.63

0.27%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 TOP 7.51

$1.99 SBD 16.10

58.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 TOP 6.29

$3.47 SBD 28.03

-23.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 TOP 5.42

$1.40 SBD 11.31

62.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 TOP 3.37

$1.03 SBD 8.36

37.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.24 TOP 24.34

$4.26 SBD 34.40

140.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.36 TOP 41.28

$10.37 SBD 83.7

67.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 TOP 7.45

$1.69 SBD 13.67

85.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 TOP 8.11

$3.47 SBD 28.02

-1.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.14 TOP 5.08

$0.39 SBD 3.12

448.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.65 TOP 99.0

$25.14 SBD 203

65.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.05 TOP 4.88

$1.27 SBD 10.28

61.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 TOP 4.92

$1.20 SBD 9.72

72.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.16 TOP 97.9

$12.60 SBD 102

226.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 TOP 3.50

$1.35 SBD 10.92

8.89%

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

$5,817 TOP 13.8K

$18.7K SBD 151.1K

-68.91%

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

$8,461 TOP 20.1K

$34.1K SBD 275.9K

-75.22%

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

$188 TOP 446

$429 SBD 3,466

-56.27%

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

$22.27 TOP 52.9

$27.02 SBD 218

-17.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 TOP 291

$89.0 SBD 719

37.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 TOP 75.2

$36.76 SBD 297

-13.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.72 TOP 96.8

$8.94 SBD 72.2

355.48%

Cinema Ticket

$40.75 TOP 96.9

$4.41 SBD 35.66

824.04%

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

$157 TOP 373

$100 SBD 811

56.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$248 TOP 589

$2,898 SBD 23.4K

-91.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.35 TOP 34.11

$27.71 SBD 224

-48.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.98 TOP 42.74

$93.5 SBD 755

-80.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.42 TOP 48.53

$95.9 SBD 774

-78.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.28 TOP 69.6

$103 SBD 830

-71.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 TOP 1,472

$870 SBD 7,027

-28.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 SBD 3,508

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 TOP 1,976

$1,851 SBD 14.9K

-55.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 TOP 1,331

$1,398 SBD 11.3K

-59.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$418 TOP 993

$86.4K SBD 698.3K

-99.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$252 TOP 598

$62.1K SBD 501.4K

-99.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$680 TOP 1,616

$444 SBD 3,585

53.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.67

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

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Honiara: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6%

Honiara

$545 31.8% 64% $213

Groceries & Markets

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6%

Honiara

$345 20.1% 18.1% $53

Eating Out

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9%

Honiara

$167 9.7% 8.7% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1%

Honiara

$46 2.7% 59.7% $68

Getting Around

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1%

Honiara

$34 2% 45.7% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6%

Honiara

$144 8.4% 290% $107

Accommodation & Living

Nuku'alofa

- * 0%

Honiara

$434 25.3%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $619 in Nuku'alofa versus $870 in Honiara. 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 53% higher in Nuku'alofa, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in Nuku'alofa versus $63.0 in Honiara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $345 – making Nuku'alofa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🇸🇧 Honiara

🕒 Local time

14:11 2:11 PM

12:11 12:11 PM

2 h behind Nuku'alofa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,500 Capital

54,600 Capital

💱 Currency

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TOP = 0.421 USD

1 TOP = 0.375 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, 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).

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).

USD to TOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nuku'alofa Honiara 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Nuku'alofa
Honiara

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 Honiara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,019 in Nuku'alofa, $1,742 in Honiara – roughly 71% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,529 per month in Nuku'alofa and $2,614 in Honiara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 18% more in Honiara, 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 $62.0 in Nuku'alofa and $63.0 in Honiara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Nuku'alofa, where all-in costs run around $1,019, than in Honiara at $1,742. In Nuku'alofa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Honiara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Nuku'alofa – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Nuku'alofa. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Honiara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.