Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Moresby and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Moresby: $1,532 a month against $2,380 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
Learn more

Port Moresby Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
Learn more

Queenstown Living Index

Jump to prices

Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,532 in Port Moresby versus $2,380 in Queenstown.

Port Moresby $1,532
Queenstown $2,380

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,418 in Port Moresby versus $3,738 in Queenstown.

Port Moresby $2,418
Queenstown $3,738

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,305 in Port Moresby versus $5,096 in Queenstown.

Port Moresby $3,305
Queenstown $5,096

Living in Port Moresby costs roughly 36% less than in Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Port Moresby 14% above, Queenstown 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 PGK 33.99

$14.19 NZ$25.28

-45.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.89 PGK 192

$61.4 NZ$109

-28.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 PGK 23.59

$9.19 NZ$16.38

-41.46%

Cappuccino

$2.44 PGK 10.69

$3.13 NZ$5.57

-22.04%

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

$0.77 PGK 3.38

$2.02 NZ$3.61

-61.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 PGK 2.95

$2.00 NZ$3.57

-66.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.91 PGK 12.74

$6.80 NZ$12.11

-57.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 PGK 15.60

$6.26 NZ$11.16

-43.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 PGK 7.97

$2.15 NZ$3.82

-15.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 PGK 6.74

$1.94 NZ$3.46

-20.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 PGK 6.09

$1.71 NZ$3.04

-18.71%

Eggs

$3.62 PGK 15.86

$5.67 NZ$10.10

-36.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 PGK 37.85

$8.10 NZ$14.43

6.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 PGK 24.56

$9.89 NZ$17.62

-43.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 PGK 43.47

$15.72 NZ$28.02

-36.90%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 PGK 18.45

$2.87 NZ$5.11

46.69%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 PGK 13.67

$2.25 NZ$4.01

38.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.01 PGK 30.72

$3.68 NZ$6.55

90.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.56 PGK 28.75

$5.27 NZ$9.38

24.48%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 PGK 14.92

$3.41 NZ$6.08

-0.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 PGK 12.79

$1.84 NZ$3.28

58.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 PGK 10.21

$2.35 NZ$4.18

-0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 PGK 5.64

$1.89 NZ$3.37

-31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 PGK 27.45

$27.36 NZ$48.75

-77.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 PGK 47.05

$8.90 NZ$15.85

20.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 PGK 11.11

$4.44 NZ$7.91

-42.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 PGK 15.39

$6.40 NZ$11.40

-45.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.86

$1.44 NZ$2.56

-70.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.95 PGK 96.2

$119 NZ$212

-81.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.43 PGK 23.79

$2.59 NZ$4.61

109.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

$1.87 NZ$3.32

20.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.47 PGK 67.8

$29.12 NZ$51.9

-46.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 PGK 4.13

$1.72 NZ$3.06

-45.35%

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

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

$24.9K NZ$44.4K

97.45%

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

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

$23.2K NZ$41.4K

-25.76%

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

$117 PGK 513

$112 NZ$199

4.73%

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

$22.67 PGK 99.4

$28.02 NZ$49.93

-19.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.2 PGK 400

$51.5 NZ$91.8

76.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 PGK 264

$54.3 NZ$96.8

10.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.04 PGK 96.6

$26.80 NZ$47.75

-17.76%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 PGK 38.31

$10.41 NZ$18.54

-16.04%

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

$836 PGK 3,665

$973 NZ$1,734

-14.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

$7,592 NZ$13.5K

-17.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.86 PGK 144

$58.2 NZ$104

-43.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.67 PGK 139

$45.11 NZ$80.4

-29.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 PGK 595

$90.3 NZ$161

50.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 PGK 702

$136 NZ$242

17.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 PGK 6,912

$1,512 NZ$2,693

4.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$551 PGK 2,414

$1,270 NZ$2,263

-56.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

$2,853 NZ$5,084

6.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,129 PGK 4,946

$2,522 NZ$4,493

-55.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,035 PGK 8,918

$7,599 NZ$13.5K

-73.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

$5,285 NZ$9,417

-28.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$429 PGK 1,882

$3,052 NZ$5,438

-85.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.17

6.12

98.86%

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

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Last update for Queenstown: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Moresby

$551 36.3%

Queenstown

$1.3K 52.5% 131% $719

Groceries & Markets

Port Moresby

$320 21.1%

Queenstown

$359 14.8% 12.2% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Moresby

$231 15.2%

Queenstown

$191 7.9% 17.1% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Port Moresby

$162 10.7%

Queenstown

$148 6.1% 8.6% $14

Eating Out

Port Moresby

$135 8.9%

Queenstown

$241 10% 78.8% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Port Moresby

$78 5.1%

Queenstown

$75 3.1% 3.3% $2.6

Getting Around

Port Moresby

$40 2.7%

Queenstown

$137 5.7% 239% $96

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,577 in Port Moresby and $1,512 in Queenstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Queenstown pays 611% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Port Moresby vs $61.0 in Queenstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $359 per month, with Port Moresby cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

19:52 7:52 PM

22:52 10:52 PM

3 h ahead of Port Moresby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,145 Capital

15,450

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.204 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.501 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.38 PGK (1 PGK = 0.228 USD). 1 EUR = 4.91 PGK (1 PGK = 0.204 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 2 NZD (1 NZD = 0.501 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Port Moresby Queenstown 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Moresby
Queenstown

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 Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Port Moresby wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in Queenstown. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Port Moresby the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 611% lower in Queenstown. 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 $1,512 in Queenstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Queenstown. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Port Moresby – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $61.0 in Queenstown. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,532 in Port Moresby versus $2,380 in Queenstown, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Moresby but tight or insufficient in Queenstown. The gap between the two cities makes Port Moresby the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Port Moresby delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,532 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Port Moresby hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Port Moresby and Queenstown 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 Port Moresby gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Queenstown. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.