Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Suva and New Plymouth

For one person, living is cheaper in Suva: $946 a month against $1,821 in New Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Suva
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Suva Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in New Plymouth
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New Plymouth Living Index

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Suva

🇫🇯 Fiji

$946

/mo nomad

New Plymouth

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Suva and in New Plymouth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $946 in Suva versus $1,821 in New Plymouth.

Suva $946
New Plymouth $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,717 in Suva versus $2,787 in New Plymouth.

Suva $1,717
New Plymouth $2,787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,489 in Suva versus $3,753 in New Plymouth.

Suva $2,489
New Plymouth $3,753

Living in Suva costs roughly 48% less than in New Plymouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Suva is 30% below, New Plymouth is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.93 FJD 13.28

$11.79 NZ$20.86

-49.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.78 FJD 100

$66.5 NZ$118

-32.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.51 FJD 16.81

$8.42 NZ$14.89

-10.81%

Cappuccino

$2.85 FJD 6.37

$3.31 NZ$5.85

-13.90%

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

$1.50 FJD 3.36

$2.10 NZ$3.71

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 FJD 1.67

$1.84 NZ$3.25

-59.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.56 FJD 7.98

$5.25 NZ$9.28

-32.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 FJD 10.24

$5.51 NZ$9.75

-17.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 FJD 2.97

$1.46 NZ$2.58

-8.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 FJD 1.28

$1.25 NZ$2.21

-54.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 FJD 2.53

$1.62 NZ$2.86

-30.25%

Eggs

$3.38 FJD 7.57

$5.35 NZ$9.47

-36.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.18 FJD 22.78

$5.48 NZ$9.69

85.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.34 FJD 14.19

$7.23 NZ$12.79

-12.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.96 FJD 17.82

$11.60 NZ$20.52

-31.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 FJD 5.58

$2.45 NZ$4.33

1.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 FJD 5.43

$1.90 NZ$3.36

27.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 FJD 7.94

$2.95 NZ$5.22

20.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 FJD 7.11

$6.26 NZ$11.08

-49.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 FJD 2.83

$2.03 NZ$3.60

-37.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 FJD 2.37

$1.40 NZ$2.48

-24.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 FJD 2.61

$1.77 NZ$3.14

-34.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 FJD 1.54

$1.26 NZ$2.22

-45.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.89 FJD 22.15

$22.05 NZ$39.00

-55.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 FJD 16.10

$8.41 NZ$14.88

-14.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 FJD 4.74

$2.90 NZ$5.14

-27.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 FJD 7.60

$3.76 NZ$6.65

-9.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 FJD 1.97

$1.70 NZ$3.00

-48.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.34 FJD 50.0

$74.3 NZ$131

-69.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 FJD 2.05

$3.61 NZ$6.39

-74.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 FJD 1.01

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.80 FJD 19.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 FJD 3.21

$1.65 NZ$2.92

-13.33%

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

$24.3K FJD 54.5K

$26.4K NZ$46.8K

-8.00%

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

$24.7K FJD 55.3K

$22.6K NZ$39.9K

9.39%

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

$46.26 FJD 104

$127 NZ$225

-63.61%

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

$12.75 FJD 28.54

$27.63 NZ$48.87

-53.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.21 FJD 54.2

$47.97 NZ$84.8

-49.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.81 FJD 82.4

$42.55 NZ$75.3

-13.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.31 FJD 25.32

Cinema Ticket

$3.42 FJD 7.65

$8.00 NZ$14.14

-57.25%

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

$225 FJD 503

$669 NZ$1,183

-66.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K FJD 30.0K

$22.8K NZ$40.2K

-41.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.29 FJD 74.5

$61.6 NZ$109

-45.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.64 FJD 88.8

$38.35 NZ$67.8

3.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 FJD 154

$87.7 NZ$155

-21.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.9 FJD 134

$103 NZ$182

-41.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$889 FJD 1,992

$911 NZ$1,612

-2.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$329 FJD 736

$853 NZ$1,508

-61.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,589 FJD 5,797

$1,719 NZ$3,040

50.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$999 FJD 2,236

$1,542 NZ$2,727

-35.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,310 FJD 2,933

$3,136 NZ$5,547

-58.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$820 FJD 1,836

$2,566 NZ$4,539

-68.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$965 FJD 2,160

$2,766 NZ$4,891

-65.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.7

5.93

29.85%

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

Last update for Suva: October 10, 2026

Last update for New Plymouth: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Suva

$329 34.7%

New Plymouth

$853 46.8% 160% $524

Groceries & Markets

Suva

$231 24.4%

New Plymouth

$279 15.3% 20.9% $48

Eating Out

Suva

$140 14.8%

New Plymouth

$212 11.7% 51.5% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Suva

$91 9.6%

New Plymouth

$131 7.2% 44.1% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Suva

$83 8.8%

New Plymouth

$203 11.1% 144% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Suva

$44 4.6%

New Plymouth

$59 3.2% 34.2% $15

Getting Around

Suva

$29 3.1%

New Plymouth

$85 * 4.7% 192% $56

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 $889 in Suva and $911 in New Plymouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Plymouth pays 187% 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: $45.00 in Suva vs $67.0 in New Plymouth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $279 per month, with Suva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇯 Suva

🇳🇿 New Plymouth

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

07:50 7:50 AM

1 h ahead of Suva

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000 Capital

58,400

💱 Currency

Fijian Dollar FJD $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.397 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.52 FJD (1 FJD = 0.397 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to FJD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Suva New Plymouth 2,360 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Suva
New Plymouth

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 New Plymouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Suva and New Plymouth differ by about 92% in total monthly costs ($946 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 187% lower in New Plymouth. 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: $889 in Suva versus $911 in New Plymouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Suva runs roughly 232% less than in New Plymouth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $225 in Suva versus $669 in New Plymouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $946 in Suva versus $1,821 in New Plymouth, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Suva but tight or insufficient in New Plymouth. 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 New Plymouth 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 92% less than in New Plymouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.