Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samoa and Lae

For one person, living costs are similar in Samoa and in Lae: $861 and $825 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Samoa
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Samoa Living Index

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🇼🇸 Samoa

$861

/mo nomad

Lae

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$825

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Samoa is 52% more expensive than Lae without rent, and 4.3% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Samoa is 37.4% more expensive than Lae without rent, and 80.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$48.12 WST 134

$24.56 PGK 108

95.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.50 WST 102

$50.0 PGK 219

-27.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.52 WST 40.40

Cappuccino

$2.98 WST 8.30

$2.66 PGK 11.67

12.03%

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

$1.80 WST 5.00

$0.79 PGK 3.47

127.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 WST 3.73

$0.54 PGK 2.35

148.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.48 WST 9.68

$3.27 PGK 14.33

6.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 WST 10.08

$5.20 PGK 22.78

-30.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 WST 5.01

$2.02 PGK 8.85

-10.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 WST 2.33

$1.47 PGK 6.42

-42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 WST 5.16

$1.28 PGK 5.61

44.53%

Eggs

$4.39 WST 12.21

$3.95 PGK 17.30

11.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$0.95 WST 2.64

$9.51 PGK 41.69

-90.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.66 WST 10.18

$8.83 PGK 38.70

-58.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.46 WST 23.56

$10.71 PGK 46.93

-21.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.96 WST 13.80

$4.55 PGK 19.94

9.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 WST 5.11

$2.78 PGK 12.18

-33.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 WST 4.92

$6.04 PGK 26.46

-70.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.26 WST 11.87

$1.51 PGK 6.64

182.12%

Potato (1kg)

$3.67 WST 10.21

$3.49 PGK 15.31

5.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 WST 2.97

$2.39 PGK 10.46

-55.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 PGK 3.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 WST 3.25

$0.91 PGK 4.00

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.04 WST 16.82

$6.58 PGK 28.83

-8.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.06 WST 44.70

$12.02 PGK 52.7

33.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 WST 5.00

$2.47 PGK 10.81

-27.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 WST 10.17

$4.28 PGK 18.76

-14.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.66 WST 10.19

$0.32 PGK 1.39

1043.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 WST 14.80

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.48 WST 15.25

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.58 WST 60.1

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 WST 3.08

$0.96 PGK 4.23

15.63%

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

$18.04 WST 50.2

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

$18.43 WST 51.3

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.93 WST 100.0

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 PGK 1,951

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$260 PGK 1,141

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,193 PGK 5,228

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,799 WST 5,007

$611 PGK 2,677

194.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$157 PGK 689

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

Last update for Samoa: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lae: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Samoa

$502 58.4%

Lae

–

Groceries & Markets

Samoa

$238 * 27.7%

Lae

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samoa

$72 8.4%

Lae

–

Getting Around

Samoa

$47 * 5.5%

Lae

–

Accommodation & Living

Samoa

- * 0%

Lae

–

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

Good to know

🇼🇸 Samoa

🇵🇬 Lae

🕒 Local time

18:21 6:21 PM

15:21 3:21 PM

3 h behind Samoa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

200,010

250,948

💱 Currency

Samoan Tala WST T

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 WST = 0.359 USD

1 WST = 0.32 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to WST – Samoan Tala Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇼🇸 Samoan Tala (T)

Samoan Tala exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.78 WST (1 WST = 0.359 USD). 1 EUR = 3.12 WST (1 WST = 0.32 EUR).

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).

USD to WST in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Samoa Lae 4,570 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Samoa
Lae

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

Samoa vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samoa and Lae

PGK, USD, EUR to WST – Samoan Tala Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Samoa

Lae

Samoa

Lae

Samoa vs other spots: cost of living compared

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