Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Moresby and Nuku'alofa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku'alofa: $1,019 a month against $1,532 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index
49

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

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Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,019

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Port Moresby and in Nuku'alofa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,532 in Port Moresby versus $1,019 in Nuku'alofa.

Port Moresby $1,532
Nuku'alofa $1,019

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,418 in Port Moresby versus $1,886 in Nuku'alofa.

Port Moresby $2,418
Nuku'alofa $1,886

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,305 in Port Moresby versus $2,752 in Nuku'alofa.

Port Moresby $3,305
Nuku'alofa $2,752

Living in Port Moresby is roughly 50% more expensive than in Nuku'alofa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Port Moresby is 14% above, Nuku'alofa is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 PGK 33.99

$8.52 TOP 20.43

-8.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.89 PGK 192

$61.8 TOP 148

-29.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 PGK 23.59

$10.32 TOP 24.74

-47.87%

Cappuccino

$2.44 PGK 10.69

$2.93 TOP 7.02

-16.72%

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

$0.77 PGK 3.38

$2.82 TOP 6.75

-72.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 PGK 2.95

$2.52 TOP 6.03

-73.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.91 PGK 12.74

$3.38 TOP 8.09

-13.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 PGK 15.60

$5.03 TOP 12.07

-29.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 PGK 7.97

$1.52 TOP 3.64

19.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 PGK 6.74

$1.07 TOP 2.56

43.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 PGK 6.09

$2.11 TOP 5.07

-34.12%

Eggs

$3.62 PGK 15.86

$4.97 TOP 11.91

-27.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 PGK 37.85

$8.75 TOP 20.98

-1.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 PGK 24.56

$5.91 TOP 14.16

-5.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 PGK 43.47

$7.82 TOP 18.75

26.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 PGK 18.45

$2.79 TOP 6.69

50.90%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 PGK 13.67

$2.71 TOP 6.49

15.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.01 PGK 30.72

$2.87 TOP 6.87

144.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.56 PGK 28.75

$3.68 TOP 8.82

78.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 PGK 14.92

$3.16 TOP 7.57

7.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 PGK 12.79

$2.65 TOP 6.34

10.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 PGK 10.21

$2.28 TOP 5.46

2.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 PGK 5.64

$1.42 TOP 3.40

-9.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 PGK 27.45

$10.24 TOP 24.54

-38.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 PGK 47.05

$17.36 TOP 41.62

-38.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 PGK 11.11

$3.14 TOP 7.51

-19.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 PGK 15.39

$3.41 TOP 8.18

2.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.86

$2.14 TOP 5.12

-80.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.95 PGK 96.2

$41.65 TOP 99.8

-47.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.43 PGK 23.79

$2.05 TOP 4.92

164.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

$2.07 TOP 4.96

8.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.47 PGK 67.8

$41.16 TOP 98.7

-62.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 PGK 4.13

$1.47 TOP 3.53

-36.05%

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

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

$5,817 TOP 13.9K

745.63%

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

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

$8,461 TOP 20.3K

103.91%

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

$117 PGK 513

$188 TOP 450

-37.57%

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

$22.67 PGK 99.4

$22.27 TOP 53.4

1.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.2 PGK 400

$123 TOP 294

-25.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 PGK 264

$31.62 TOP 75.8

90.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.04 PGK 96.6

$40.72 TOP 97.6

-45.87%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 PGK 38.31

$40.75 TOP 97.7

-78.55%

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

$836 PGK 3,665

$157 TOP 376

433.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

$248 TOP 593

2420.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.86 PGK 144

$14.35 TOP 34.38

128.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.67 PGK 139

$17.98 TOP 43.09

76.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 PGK 595

$20.42 TOP 48.93

564.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 PGK 702

$29.28 TOP 70.2

446.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 PGK 6,912

$619 TOP 1,484

154.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$551 PGK 2,414

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

$831 TOP 1,992

266.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,129 PGK 4,946

$560 TOP 1,342

101.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,035 PGK 8,918

$418 TOP 1,001

387.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

$252 TOP 603

1391.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$429 PGK 1,882

$680 TOP 1,630

-36.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.17

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

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Moresby

$551 36.3%

Nuku'alofa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Port Moresby

$320 21.1%

Nuku'alofa

$292 28.6% 8.8% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Moresby

$231 15.2%

Nuku'alofa

$332 32.6% 43.9% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Port Moresby

$162 10.7%

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6% 77.2% $125

Eating Out

Port Moresby

$135 8.9%

Nuku'alofa

$183 17.9% 35.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Port Moresby

$78 5.1%

Nuku'alofa

$113 11.1% 45.5% $35

Getting Around

Port Moresby

$40 2.7%

Nuku'alofa

$63 6.1% 55.2% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,577 in Port Moresby and $619 in Nuku'alofa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nuku'alofa pays 58% 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 $62.0 in Nuku'alofa. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $292, with Nuku'alofa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🕒 Local time

14:44 2:44 PM

17:44 5:44 PM

3 h ahead of Port Moresby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,145 Capital

24,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

1 TOP = 0.417 USD

1 TOP = 0.372 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TOP, 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.92 PGK (1 PGK = 0.203 EUR).

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.4 TOP (1 TOP = 0.417 USD). 1 EUR = 2.69 TOP (1 TOP = 0.372 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Port Moresby Nuku'alofa 4,230 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Moresby
Nuku'alofa

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 Nuku'alofa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Port Moresby and Nuku'alofa differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($1,532 vs $1,019 including rent). Nuku'alofa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Nuku'alofa. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,577 in Port Moresby versus $619 in Nuku'alofa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nuku'alofa – a meal for two runs $62.0 versus $44.00 in Port Moresby. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,532 per month in Port Moresby versus $1,019 in Nuku'alofa – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,019 in Nuku'alofa versus $1,532 in Port Moresby, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nuku'alofa but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. The gap between the two cities makes Nuku'alofa 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 Nuku'alofa 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 Nuku'alofa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.