Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papua New Guinea and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $395 a month against $1,364 in Papua New Guinea, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
Learn more

India Living Index

Jump to prices

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,364

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$395

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Papua New Guinea and in India

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,364 in Papua New Guinea versus $391 in India.

Papua New Guinea $1,364
India $391

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,170 in Papua New Guinea versus $620 in India.

Papua New Guinea $2,170
India $620

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,976 in Papua New Guinea versus $849 in India.

Papua New Guinea $2,976
India $849

Living in Papua New Guinea is roughly 249% more expensive than in India on average.

Papua New Guinea (1% above) and India (71% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.09 PGK 31.04

$2.14 ₹203

231.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.55 PGK 195

$10.57 ₹1,004

321.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.35 PGK 23.42

$3.77 ₹358

41.91%

Cappuccino

$2.33 PGK 10.18

$1.76 ₹167

32.39%

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

$0.79 PGK 3.44

$0.42 ₹39.67

88.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 PGK 2.92

$0.14 ₹13.45

378.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 PGK 11.35

$1.95 ₹186

32.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 PGK 17.38

$3.11 ₹295

27.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 PGK 7.88

$0.63 ₹59.6

185.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 PGK 6.57

$0.46 ₹43.45

226.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 PGK 5.78

$0.68 ₹64.3

94.12%

Eggs

$3.63 PGK 15.89

$0.93 ₹88.4

290.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.49 PGK 28.42

$4.83 ₹458

34.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.76 PGK 25.21

$2.91 ₹276

97.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.18 PGK 40.19

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 PGK 17.52

$2.00 ₹190

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.29 PGK 14.39

$0.63 ₹59.6

422.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.15 PGK 26.93

$0.98 ₹92.8

527.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.12 PGK 22.42

$0.51 ₹48.04

903.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.29 PGK 14.41

$0.36 ₹34.28

813.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.79 PGK 12.20

$0.39 ₹36.72

615.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 PGK 8.79

$0.43 ₹41.31

367.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 PGK 4.94

$0.29 ₹27.53

289.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.55 PGK 28.66

$5.14 ₹488

27.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.72 PGK 46.94

$7.33 ₹696

46.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 PGK 10.83

$1.65 ₹157

49.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 PGK 16.23

$2.73 ₹259

35.90%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.08 ₹483

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.46 PGK 2.01

$0.25 ₹23.70

84.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.35 PGK 111

$8.49 ₹806

198.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 PGK 21.07

$1.03 ₹97.9

366.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.22 PGK 9.73

$0.25 ₹23.69

788.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.21 PGK 53.5

$1.61 ₹153

658.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 PGK 4.27

$1.07 ₹101

-8.41%

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

$29.0K PGK 127.0K

$11.3K ₹1.1M

155.95%

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

$22.7K PGK 99.3K

$20.1K ₹1.9M

12.73%

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

$93.6 PGK 410

$37.73 ₹3,583

148.00%

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

$24.89 PGK 109

$3.58 ₹340

595.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$104 PGK 454

$6.89 ₹655

1405.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.6 PGK 278

$14.63 ₹1,390

334.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.19 PGK 106

$7.25 ₹688

233.66%

Cinema Ticket

$8.64 PGK 37.82

$3.17 ₹301

172.56%

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

$522 PGK 2,283

$56.5 ₹5,369

822.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,363 PGK 23.5K

$1,646 ₹156.3K

225.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.28 PGK 159

$22.73 ₹2,158

59.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.70 PGK 148

$24.04 ₹2,283

40.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.1 PGK 281

$41.04 ₹3,898

56.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.4 PGK 374

$30.60 ₹2,906

179.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 PGK 5,855

$144 ₹13.6K

831.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$495 PGK 2,167

$91.5 ₹8,691

440.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,689 PGK 11.8K

$324 ₹30.8K

728.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,069 PGK 4,678

$214 ₹20.3K

400.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,026 PGK 8,869

$1,200 ₹114.0K

68.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,702 PGK 16.2K

$619 ₹58.8K

498.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$417 PGK 1,826

$440 ₹41.8K

-5.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.67

8.92

53.25%

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

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 19, 2026

Last update for India: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Papua New Guinea

$495 36.3%

India

$92 23.1% 81.5% $404

Groceries & Markets

Papua New Guinea

$297 21.8%

India

$102 25.8% 65.6% $195

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Papua New Guinea

$222 16.3%

India

$48 12.2% 78.3% $174

Eating Out

Papua New Guinea

$127 9.3%

India

$68 17.1% 46.9% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Papua New Guinea

$99 7.2%

India

$53 13.5% 46.1% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Papua New Guinea

$81 5.9%

India

$21 5.3% 74.1% $60

Getting Around

Papua New Guinea

$43 3.2%

India

$12 3% 72.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $751 in Papua New Guinea, $119 in India. Capital cities: $1,507 in Port Moresby vs $267 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $311 in Papua New Guinea, $411 in India. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 531% higher in Papua New Guinea.

Dining out costs 90% more in Papua New Guinea.

Salaries are 32% higher in India, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

19:59 7:59 PM

15:29 3:29 PM

4 h 30 min behind Papua New Guinea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,935,000

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Papua New Guinea India 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Papua New Guinea
India

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

Papua New Guinea vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $391 per month in India and $1,364 in Papua New Guinea, there's a 249% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $751 in Papua New Guinea and $119 in India. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In India, $1,000 covers most cities easily; in Papua New Guinea it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: India wins on affordability; Papua New Guinea may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.