Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paramaribo and Honiara

For one person, living is cheaper in Paramaribo: $1,002 a month against $1,718 in Honiara, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Honiara
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Honiara Living Index

Jump to prices

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$1,002

/mo nomad

Honiara

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

$1,718

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Paramaribo 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 Paramaribo and in Honiara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,002 per month in Paramaribo vs $1,718 in Honiara, rent included.

Paramaribo $1,002
Honiara $1,718

A couple spends around $1,659 per month in Paramaribo vs $2,833 in Honiara, rent included.

Paramaribo $1,659
Honiara $2,833

A family of three spends $2,316 per month in Paramaribo vs $3,948 in Honiara, rent included.

Paramaribo $2,316
Honiara $3,948

Paramaribo is about 42% cheaper than Honiara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Paramaribo sits 26% below the global median, while Honiara is 27% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.42 SRD 506

$6.94 SBD 56.0

93.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.8 SRD 1,989

$62.3 SBD 502

-15.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 SRD 408

$12.56 SBD 101

-13.85%

Cappuccino

$2.86 SRD 108

$3.49 SBD 28.17

-18.05%

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

$1.41 SRD 53.3

$1.58 SBD 12.75

-10.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 SRD 32.98

$1.10 SBD 8.90

-20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 SRD 100

$2.55 SBD 20.59

4.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 SRD 146

$5.70 SBD 45.93

-32.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 SRD 65.8

$2.48 SBD 20.01

-29.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 SRD 53.1

$1.54 SBD 12.42

-8.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 SRD 62.3

$1.65 SBD 13.29

Eggs

$3.12 SRD 118

$5.51 SBD 44.40

-43.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 SRD 444

$6.43 SBD 51.8

83.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.13 SRD 231

$8.58 SBD 69.2

-28.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 SRD 386

$15.40 SBD 124

-33.51%

Apples (1kg)

$4.78 SRD 180

$6.38 SBD 51.4

-25.08%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 SRD 113

$2.59 SBD 20.89

16.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.67 SRD 138

$8.44 SBD 68.1

-56.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.01 SRD 226

$3.66 SBD 29.48

64.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 SRD 49.65

$1.94 SBD 15.60

-31.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 SRD 74.9

$3.41 SBD 27.53

-41.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 SRD 57.7

$1.45 SBD 11.72

5.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SRD 54.1

$1.07 SBD 8.62

34.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.66 SRD 213

$4.18 SBD 33.67

35.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 SRD 304

$10.70 SBD 86.3

-24.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 SRD 78.8

$1.78 SBD 14.36

17.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 SRD 142

$3.35 SBD 26.98

12.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 SRD 29.23

$0.38 SBD 3.09

105.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.88 SBD 201

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 SRD 81.0

$1.20 SBD 9.70

79.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 SRD 58.0

$1.21 SBD 9.79

27.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.19 SRD 271

$12.41 SBD 100

-42.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 SRD 44.76

$1.30 SBD 10.50

-8.46%

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

$25.5K SRD 959.6K

$18.8K SBD 151.8K

35.32%

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

$25.3K SRD 952.9K

$34.7K SBD 279.9K

-27.14%

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

$37.49 SRD 1,412

$427 SBD 3,440

-91.21%

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

$25.86 SRD 974

$27.52 SBD 222

-6.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.23 SRD 1,139

$88.8 SBD 716

-65.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.51 SRD 509

$37.21 SBD 300

-63.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.20 SRD 761

$9.24 SBD 74.5

118.61%

Cinema Ticket

$5.15 SRD 194

$4.25 SBD 34.29

21.18%

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

$63.1 SRD 2,378

$98.2 SBD 792

-35.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,777 SRD 66.9K

$2,891 SBD 23.3K

-38.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.60 SRD 1,266

$27.02 SBD 218

24.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.88 SRD 787

$93.7 SBD 756

-77.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.3 SRD 2,571

$95.3 SBD 768

-28.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 SRD 3,873

$104 SBD 834

-0.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$480 SRD 18.1K

$901 SBD 7,263

-46.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 SRD 10.0K

$436 SBD 3,518

-39.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$939 SRD 35.4K

$1,867 SBD 15.1K

-49.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 SRD 18.8K

$1,422 SBD 11.5K

-64.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$461 SRD 17.3K

$86.7K SBD 699.2K

-99.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$396 SRD 14.9K

$63.1K SBD 508.8K

-99.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$282 SRD 10.6K

$443 SBD 3,574

-36.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.67

2.11%

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

Last update for Paramaribo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Honiara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Paramaribo

$300 29.9%

Honiara

$345 20.1% 15.2% $45

Accommodation & Living

Paramaribo

$266 26.6%

Honiara

$436 25.4% 64.1% $170

Eating Out

Paramaribo

$204 20.4%

Honiara

$170 9.9% 16.8% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Paramaribo

$102 10.1%

Honiara

$144 8.4% 41.7% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paramaribo

$94 9.3%

Honiara

$543 31.6% 480% $449

Sport & Entertainment

Paramaribo

$24 2.4%

Honiara

$46 2.7% 92% $22

Getting Around

Paramaribo

$13 * 1.3%

Honiara

$34 2% 160% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $480 in Paramaribo versus $901 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 57% higher in Honiara, 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 $53.0 in Paramaribo versus $62.0 in Honiara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $345 – making Paramaribo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🇸🇧 Honiara

🕒 Local time

19:44 7:44 PM

09:44 9:44 AM

14 h ahead of Paramaribo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

242,946 Capital

54,600 Capital

💱 Currency

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

Solomon Islands Dollar SBD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SRD = 2.65 USD

100 SRD = 2.36 EUR

1 SBD = 0.124 USD

1 SBD = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SBD, USD, EUR to SRD – Surinamese Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇷 Surinamese Dollar ($)

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 37.67 SRD (100 SRD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 42.35 SRD (100 SRD = 2.36 EUR).

Solomon Islands Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 8.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 SBD (1 SBD = 0.11 EUR).

USD to SRD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Paramaribo Honiara 16,120 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Paramaribo
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

Paramaribo vs Honiara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,002 in Paramaribo, $1,718 in Honiara – roughly 71% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,503 per month in Paramaribo and $2,577 in Honiara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $53.0 in Paramaribo and $62.0 in Honiara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 15% 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Paramaribo, where all-in costs run around $1,002, than in Honiara at $1,718. In Paramaribo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Honiara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Paramaribo. 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.