Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuku'alofa and Nadi

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,019 a month against $1,368 in Nadi, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nadi outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Nadi
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Nadi Living Index

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Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Nadi

🇫🇯 Fiji

$1,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,019 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $1,368 in Nadi, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $1,019
Nadi $1,368

A couple spends around $1,886 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $2,030 in Nadi, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $1,886
Nadi $2,030

A family of three spends $2,752 per month in Nuku'alofa vs $2,691 in Nadi, rent included.

Nuku'alofa $2,752
Nadi $2,691

Nuku'alofa is about 26% cheaper than Nadi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Nuku'alofa sits 24% below the global median, while Nadi is 2% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.52 TOP 20.26

$9.15 FJD 20.49

-6.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 TOP 147

$37.13 FJD 83.1

66.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.32 TOP 24.54

$8.77 FJD 19.63

17.67%

Cappuccino

$2.93 TOP 6.96

$4.39 FJD 9.83

-33.26%

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

$2.82 TOP 6.70

$1.44 FJD 3.23

95.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 TOP 5.99

$1.27 FJD 2.84

98.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 TOP 8.02

$2.60 FJD 5.82

30.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 TOP 11.97

$4.41 FJD 9.88

14.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 TOP 3.61

$1.40 FJD 3.13

8.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 TOP 2.54

$1.09 FJD 2.43

-1.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 TOP 5.02

$1.30 FJD 2.90

62.31%

Eggs

$4.97 TOP 11.81

$2.98 FJD 6.67

66.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 TOP 20.81

$12.30 FJD 27.54

-28.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.91 TOP 14.04

$13.51 FJD 30.25

-56.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 TOP 18.60

$15.65 FJD 35.03

-50.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 TOP 6.63

$3.00 FJD 6.71

-7.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.71 TOP 6.44

$2.84 FJD 6.37

-4.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 TOP 6.81

$3.68 FJD 8.25

-22.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 TOP 8.75

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 TOP 7.51

$2.03 FJD 4.55

55.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 TOP 6.29

$1.95 FJD 4.36

35.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 TOP 5.42

$1.14 FJD 2.55

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 TOP 3.37

$0.97 FJD 2.17

46.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.24 TOP 24.34

$9.10 FJD 20.38

12.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.36 TOP 41.28

$9.97 FJD 22.31

74.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 TOP 7.45

$2.67 FJD 5.98

17.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 TOP 8.11

$3.37 FJD 7.55

1.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.14 TOP 5.08

$0.70 FJD 1.57

205.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.65 TOP 99.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.05 TOP 4.88

$1.13 FJD 2.54

81.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 TOP 4.92

$0.42 FJD 0.94

392.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.16 TOP 97.9

$4.83 FJD 10.82

752.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 TOP 3.50

$1.27 FJD 2.83

15.75%

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

$5,817 TOP 13.8K

$24.6K FJD 55.0K

-76.31%

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

$8,461 TOP 20.1K

$21.9K FJD 48.9K

-61.29%

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

$188 TOP 446

$66.9 FJD 150

180.39%

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

$22.27 TOP 52.9

$17.84 FJD 39.93

24.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$123 TOP 291

$22.80 FJD 51.1

437.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 TOP 75.2

$37.41 FJD 83.8

-15.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.72 TOP 96.8

Cinema Ticket

$40.75 TOP 96.9

$5.38 FJD 12.04

657.43%

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

$157 TOP 373

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$248 TOP 589

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.35 TOP 34.11

$28.44 FJD 63.7

-49.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.98 TOP 42.74

$44.49 FJD 99.6

-59.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.42 TOP 48.53

$58.3 FJD 130

-64.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.28 TOP 69.6

$66.7 FJD 149

-56.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 TOP 1,472

$1,129 FJD 2,527

-45.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 FJD 1,447

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 TOP 1,976

$1,697 FJD 3,800

-51.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$560 TOP 1,331

$1,006 FJD 2,251

-44.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$418 TOP 993

$693 FJD 1,551

-39.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$252 TOP 598

$523 FJD 1,171

-51.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$680 TOP 1,616

$821 FJD 1,838

-17.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.25

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

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nadi: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6%

Nadi

$108 7.8% 67.6% $225

Groceries & Markets

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6%

Nadi

$306 * 22.1% 5% $15

Eating Out

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9%

Nadi

$185 13.3% 1.2% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1%

Nadi

$48 3.5% 57.4% $65

Getting Around

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1%

Nadi

$6 * 0.4% 90.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6%

Nadi

$89 6.4% 141% $52

Accommodation & Living

Nuku'alofa

- * 0%

Nadi

$646 46.5%

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 $1,129 in Nadi. 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 21% higher in Nadi, 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 $62.0 in Nuku'alofa versus $37.00 in Nadi. Groceries tell a different story – $292 in Nuku'alofa vs $306 in Nadi – so Nuku'alofa wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🇫🇯 Nadi

🕒 Local time

18:46 6:46 PM

17:46 5:46 PM

1 h behind Nuku'alofa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,500 Capital

50,000

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nuku'alofa Nadi 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Nuku'alofa
Nadi

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 Nadi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nadi is pricier by about 34%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,529 per month in Nuku'alofa and $2,053 in Nadi. 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 5% more in Nadi, 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 $37.00 in Nadi. 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 Nadi at $1,368. In Nuku'alofa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nadi 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, Nadi makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.