Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Moresby and Suva

For one person, living is cheaper in Suva: $927 a month against $1,532 in Port Moresby, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Port Moresby
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Port Moresby Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Suva
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Suva Living Index

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Port Moresby

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,532

/mo nomad

Suva

🇫🇯 Fiji

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,532 in Port Moresby versus $927 in Suva.

Port Moresby $1,532
Suva $927

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,418 in Port Moresby versus $1,681 in Suva.

Port Moresby $2,418
Suva $1,681

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,305 in Port Moresby versus $2,435 in Suva.

Port Moresby $3,305
Suva $2,435

Living in Port Moresby is roughly 65% more expensive than in Suva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Port Moresby is 14% above, Suva is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 PGK 33.98

$5.72 FJD 12.81

35.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.89 PGK 192

$44.13 FJD 98.8

-0.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 PGK 23.58

$7.76 FJD 17.37

-30.67%

Cappuccino

$2.44 PGK 10.69

$2.91 FJD 6.52

-16.15%

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

$0.77 PGK 3.38

$1.50 FJD 3.36

-48.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 PGK 2.95

$0.73 FJD 1.64

-8.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.91 PGK 12.74

$3.67 FJD 8.21

-20.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 PGK 15.59

$4.33 FJD 9.70

-17.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 PGK 7.97

$1.28 FJD 2.86

42.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 PGK 6.74

$0.56 FJD 1.26

175.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 PGK 6.09

$1.13 FJD 2.52

23.01%

Eggs

$3.62 PGK 15.86

$3.39 FJD 7.60

6.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 PGK 37.85

$10.04 FJD 22.48

-13.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 PGK 24.55

$6.06 FJD 13.57

-7.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 PGK 43.46

$7.82 FJD 17.50

26.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 PGK 18.45

$2.47 FJD 5.54

70.45%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 PGK 13.67

$2.42 FJD 5.43

28.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.01 PGK 30.72

$3.48 FJD 7.79

101.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.56 PGK 28.75

$3.12 FJD 6.99

110.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 PGK 14.92

$1.22 FJD 2.72

178.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 PGK 12.79

$1.07 FJD 2.39

172.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 PGK 10.20

$1.22 FJD 2.73

90.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 PGK 5.64

$0.73 FJD 1.64

76.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 PGK 27.45

$9.66 FJD 21.62

-35.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.73 PGK 47.04

$7.33 FJD 16.41

46.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 PGK 11.11

$2.07 FJD 4.64

22.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 PGK 15.38

$3.43 FJD 7.69

2.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.86

$0.94 FJD 2.11

-55.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.95 PGK 96.2

$22.37 FJD 50.1

-1.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.43 PGK 23.79

$0.87 FJD 1.94

524.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.25 PGK 9.87

$0.42 FJD 0.94

435.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.47 PGK 67.8

$8.95 FJD 20.04

72.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 PGK 4.13

$1.46 FJD 3.26

-35.62%

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

$49.2K PGK 215.6K

$24.4K FJD 54.6K

101.57%

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

$17.3K PGK 75.6K

$25.6K FJD 57.4K

-32.65%

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

$117 PGK 513

$46.38 FJD 104

152.52%

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

$22.67 PGK 99.4

$12.79 FJD 28.65

77.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.2 PGK 399

$23.98 FJD 53.7

280.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 PGK 264

$36.85 FJD 82.5

63.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.04 PGK 96.6

$11.30 FJD 25.29

95.04%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 PGK 38.31

$3.43 FJD 7.68

154.81%

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

$836 PGK 3,665

$228 FJD 509

267.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,242 PGK 27.4K

$13.4K FJD 30.0K

-53.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.86 PGK 144

$33.19 FJD 74.3

-0.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.67 PGK 139

$40.53 FJD 90.8

-21.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 PGK 595

$68.9 FJD 154

96.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 PGK 702

$61.4 FJD 138

160.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,577 PGK 6,911

$891 FJD 1,995

76.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$551 PGK 2,414

$330 FJD 740

66.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,049 PGK 13.4K

$2,641 FJD 5,913

15.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,129 PGK 4,945

$1,001 FJD 2,241

12.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,035 PGK 8,917

$1,320 FJD 2,956

54.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,755 PGK 16.5K

$818 FJD 1,832

359.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$429 PGK 1,881

$961 FJD 2,151

-55.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.17

7.7

58.05%

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

Last update for Port Moresby: October 6, 2026

Last update for Suva: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Port Moresby

$551 36.3%

Suva

$330 34.9% 40% $221

Groceries & Markets

Port Moresby

$320 21.1%

Suva

$228 24.1% 28.7% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Moresby

$231 15.2%

Suva

$83 8.8% 64% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Port Moresby

$162 10.7%

Suva

$92 9.7% 43.4% $70

Eating Out

Port Moresby

$135 8.9%

Suva

$140 14.8% 3.7% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Port Moresby

$78 5.1%

Suva

$44 4.6% 43.8% $34

Getting Around

Port Moresby

$40 2.7%

Suva

$29 3.1% 27.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,577 in Port Moresby and $891 in Suva. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Suva pays 124% 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 $44.00 in Suva. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $228, with Suva cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Port Moresby

🇫🇯 Suva

🕒 Local time

12:55 12:55 PM

14:55 2:55 PM

2 h ahead of Port Moresby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,145 Capital

100,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Fijian Dollar FJD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

FJD, 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 = 0.203 EUR).

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.398 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Port Moresby Suva 3,510 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Moresby
Suva

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 Suva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suva wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Port Moresby. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Suva the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 124% lower in Suva. 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 $891 in Suva. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Port Moresby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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

At $927 in Suva versus $1,532 in Port Moresby, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Suva but tight or insufficient in Port Moresby. The gap between the two cities makes Suva 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 Suva 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 Suva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Port Moresby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.