Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Suva and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in Suva: $927 a month against $1,821 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Suva
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Suva Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
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Dunedin Living Index

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Suva

🇫🇯 Fiji

$927

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Suva and in Dunedin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $927 in Suva versus $1,821 in Dunedin.

Suva $927
Dunedin $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,681 in Suva versus $2,717 in Dunedin.

Suva $1,681
Dunedin $2,717

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,435 in Suva versus $3,613 in Dunedin.

Suva $2,435
Dunedin $3,613

Living in Suva costs roughly 49% less than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Suva is 31% below, Dunedin is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.72 FJD 12.81

$13.73 NZ$24.50

-58.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.13 FJD 98.8

$61.8 NZ$110

-28.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 FJD 17.37

$11.42 NZ$20.37

-32.05%

Cappuccino

$2.91 FJD 6.52

$3.23 NZ$5.75

-9.91%

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

$1.50 FJD 3.36

$2.08 NZ$3.71

-27.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 FJD 1.64

$2.09 NZ$3.72

-65.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.67 FJD 8.21

$6.85 NZ$12.22

-46.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 FJD 9.70

$6.02 NZ$10.73

-28.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 FJD 2.86

$2.18 NZ$3.88

-41.28%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 FJD 1.26

$1.94 NZ$3.46

-71.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 FJD 2.52

$1.75 NZ$3.12

-35.43%

Eggs

$3.39 FJD 7.60

$5.83 NZ$10.40

-41.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.04 FJD 22.48

$8.15 NZ$14.54

23.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.06 FJD 13.57

$9.43 NZ$16.81

-35.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.82 FJD 17.50

$16.55 NZ$29.52

-52.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.47 FJD 5.54

$2.87 NZ$5.13

-13.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 FJD 5.43

$2.34 NZ$4.17

3.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.48 FJD 7.79

$3.10 NZ$5.52

12.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.12 FJD 6.99

$5.04 NZ$9.00

-38.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 FJD 2.72

$1.83 NZ$3.26

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 FJD 2.39

$1.84 NZ$3.29

-41.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 FJD 2.73

$2.38 NZ$4.25

-48.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 FJD 1.64

$0.55 NZ$0.99

32.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.66 FJD 21.62

$20.93 NZ$37.33

-53.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 FJD 16.41

$8.87 NZ$15.82

-17.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 FJD 4.64

$3.17 NZ$5.65

-34.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 FJD 7.69

$1.24 NZ$2.22

176.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 FJD 2.11

$1.09 NZ$1.94

-13.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.37 FJD 50.1

$68.1 NZ$121

-67.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 FJD 1.94

$5.65 NZ$10.08

-84.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 FJD 0.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.95 FJD 20.04

$27.97 NZ$49.88

-68.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 FJD 3.26

$1.71 NZ$3.05

-14.62%

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

$24.4K FJD 54.6K

$25.1K NZ$44.8K

-2.89%

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

$25.6K FJD 57.4K

$25.0K NZ$44.7K

2.31%

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

$46.38 FJD 104

$111 NZ$197

-58.09%

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

$12.79 FJD 28.65

$28.28 NZ$50.4

-54.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.98 FJD 53.7

$51.1 NZ$91.1

-53.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.85 FJD 82.5

$48.05 NZ$85.7

-23.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.30 FJD 25.29

Cinema Ticket

$3.43 FJD 7.68

$10.43 NZ$18.60

-67.11%

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

$228 FJD 509

$591 NZ$1,054

-61.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K FJD 30.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.19 FJD 74.3

$57.5 NZ$103

-42.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.53 FJD 90.8

$34.52 NZ$61.6

17.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.9 FJD 154

$92.9 NZ$166

-25.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.4 FJD 138

$132 NZ$236

-53.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$891 FJD 1,995

$876 NZ$1,562

1.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 FJD 740

$751 NZ$1,339

-56.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,641 FJD 5,913

$1,474 NZ$2,630

79.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 FJD 2,241

$1,150 NZ$2,051

-12.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,320 FJD 2,956

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$818 FJD 1,832

$2,256 NZ$4,023

-63.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$961 FJD 2,151

$2,455 NZ$4,379

-60.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.7

7.07

8.91%

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

Last update for Suva: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dunedin: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Suva

$330 34.9%

Dunedin

$751 41.8% 127% $420

Groceries & Markets

Suva

$228 24.1%

Dunedin

$320 17.8% 40.3% $92

Eating Out

Suva

$140 14.8%

Dunedin

$246 13.7% 75.7% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Suva

$92 9.7%

Dunedin

$143 7.9% 55.3% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Suva

$83 8.8%

Dunedin

$190 10.6% 129% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Suva

$44 4.6%

Dunedin

$69 3.8% 57.7% $25

Getting Around

Suva

$29 3.1%

Dunedin

$78 * 4.4% 168% $49

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 $891 in Suva and $876 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunedin pays 156% 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 Suva vs $62.0 in Dunedin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $228 vs $320 per month, with Suva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇯 Suva

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

16:48 4:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

1 h ahead of Suva

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000 Capital

105,000

💱 Currency

Fijian Dollar FJD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.398 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.5 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to FJD – Fijian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇫🇯 Fijian Dollar ($)

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).

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 = 0.5 EUR).

USD to FJD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Suva Dunedin 3,170 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Suva
Dunedin

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

Suva vs Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suva and Dunedin differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($927 vs $1,821 including rent). Suva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 156% lower in Dunedin. 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: $891 in Suva versus $876 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Suva runs roughly 204% less than in Dunedin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $228 in Suva versus $591 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $927 in Suva versus $1,821 in Dunedin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Suva but tight or insufficient in Dunedin. 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, Suva and Dunedin 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 97% less than in Dunedin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.