Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Moresby and Masterton

For one person, living is cheaper in Masterton: $832 a month against $1,469 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Masterton
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Masterton Living Index

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Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,469

/mo nomad

Masterton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Port Moresby and in Masterton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,469 in Port Moresby versus $832 in Masterton.

Port Moresby $1,469
Masterton $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,315 in Port Moresby versus $1,432 in Masterton.

Port Moresby $2,315
Masterton $1,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,161 in Port Moresby versus $2,032 in Masterton.

Port Moresby $3,161
Masterton $2,032

Living in Port Moresby is roughly 77% more expensive than in Masterton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Port Moresby is 9% above, Masterton is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 PGK 33.97

$9.54 NZ$16.88

-18.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.08 PGK 193

$64.9 NZ$115

-32.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 PGK 24.55

$8.56 NZ$15.14

-34.46%

Cappuccino

$2.54 PGK 11.13

$3.18 NZ$5.62

-20.13%

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

$0.74 PGK 3.23

$2.02 NZ$3.57

-63.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 PGK 3.00

$1.09 NZ$1.93

-36.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.03 PGK 13.28

$3.89 NZ$6.88

-22.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 PGK 16.10

$3.28 NZ$5.79

12.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 PGK 8.02

$1.42 NZ$2.51

28.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 PGK 6.55

$2.21 NZ$3.91

-32.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PGK 5.97

$1.03 NZ$1.82

32.04%

Eggs

$3.74 PGK 16.38

$6.32 NZ$11.17

-40.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.93 PGK 39.08

$8.29 NZ$14.65

7.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.94 PGK 21.64

$9.48 NZ$16.76

-47.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.55 PGK 41.82

$15.18 NZ$26.85

-37.09%

Apples (1kg)

$4.41 PGK 19.31

$2.18 NZ$3.85

102.29%

Banana (1kg)

$3.27 PGK 14.29

$1.71 NZ$3.02

91.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.28 PGK 31.87

$2.98 NZ$5.27

144.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.46 PGK 28.27

$4.58 NZ$8.11

41.05%

Potato (1kg)

$3.08 PGK 13.49

$1.53 NZ$2.71

101.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.99 PGK 13.10

$1.08 NZ$1.90

176.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 PGK 10.29

$1.70 NZ$3.00

38.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 PGK 5.82

$0.52 NZ$0.92

155.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.51 PGK 28.52

$19.51 NZ$34.50

-66.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 PGK 47.88

$11.21 NZ$19.83

-2.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 PGK 11.83

$0.85 NZ$1.50

217.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 PGK 15.43

$1.14 NZ$2.02

209.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 PGK 2.05

$2.23 NZ$3.94

-78.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.74 PGK 99.5

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 PGK 21.51

$1.81 NZ$3.20

171.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

$1.75 NZ$3.09

28.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.72 PGK 64.4

$34.16 NZ$60.4

-56.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 PGK 4.38

$1.77 NZ$3.12

-43.50%

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

$50.7K PGK 222.2K

$22.0K NZ$39.0K

130.21%

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

$17.3K PGK 75.9K

$24.8K NZ$43.9K

-30.19%

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

$118 PGK 516

$55.0 NZ$97.3

114.08%

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

$20.84 PGK 91.2

$29.34 NZ$51.9

-28.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.2 PGK 360

$52.8 NZ$93.3

55.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.7 PGK 270

$41.79 NZ$73.9

47.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.19 PGK 97.1

$8.51 NZ$15.06

160.75%

Cinema Ticket

$8.80 PGK 38.51

$9.68 NZ$17.12

-9.09%

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

$563 PGK 2,465

$1,056 NZ$1,868

-46.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,239 PGK 27.3K

$12.7K NZ$22.5K

-50.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.46 PGK 155

$55.6 NZ$98.3

-36.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.95 PGK 149

$27.59 NZ$48.79

23.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.7 PGK 305

$102 NZ$181

-32.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 PGK 422

$142 NZ$251

-32.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,532 PGK 6,706

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$564 PGK 2,470

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,874 PGK 12.6K

$1,002 NZ$1,773

186.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 PGK 5,172

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,085 PGK 9,129

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,782 PGK 16.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$427 PGK 1,870

$2,327 NZ$4,115

-81.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.17

5.39

125.79%

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

Last update for Port Moresby: October 13, 2026

Last update for Masterton: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Moresby

$564 38.4%

Masterton

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Port Moresby

$320 21.8%

Masterton

$288 34.7% 9.9% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Moresby

$221 15%

Masterton

$137 16.5% 37.9% $84

Eating Out

Port Moresby

$138 9.4%

Masterton

$179 21.5% 29.8% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Port Moresby

$106 7.2%

Masterton

$147 17.7% 39.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Port Moresby

$79 5.4%

Masterton

$61 7.4% 22.9% $18

Getting Around

Port Moresby

$41 2.8%

Masterton

$19 * 2.3% 52.3% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

Masterton pays 445% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44.00 in Port Moresby vs $65.0 in Masterton. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $288, with Masterton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🇳🇿 Masterton

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

3 h ahead of Port Moresby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,145 Capital

26,800

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Port Moresby Masterton 4,480 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Moresby
Masterton

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

Port Moresby vs Masterton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Masterton is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. The 77% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 445% lower in Masterton. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Port Moresby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,469 per month in Port Moresby versus $832 in Masterton – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $832 in Masterton versus $1,469 in Port Moresby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Masterton but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. The gap between the two cities makes Masterton 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, Port Moresby and Masterton 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 Masterton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.