Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Boroko

For one person, living is cheaper in Boroko: $883 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $27,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Boroko
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Boroko Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Boroko

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$883

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Boroko

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

A single person spends $3,182 per month in Sydney vs $883 in Boroko, rent included.

Sydney $3,182
Boroko $883

A couple spends around $4,696 per month in Sydney vs $1,279 in Boroko, rent included.

Sydney $4,696
Boroko $1,279

A family of three spends $6,210 per month in Sydney vs $1,676 in Boroko, rent included.

Sydney $6,210
Boroko $1,676

Sydney costs about 261% more than Boroko, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sydney sits 137% above the global median, while Boroko is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$7.32 PGK 32.06

141.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$34.97 PGK 153

177.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$5.65 PGK 24.75

111.33%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$2.49 PGK 10.91

60.64%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.73 PGK 3.22

289.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.68 PGK 2.99

233.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$2.57 PGK 11.28

207.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$3.60 PGK 15.78

98.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$1.51 PGK 6.60

9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.20 PGK 5.27

132.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$1.22 PGK 5.34

90.16%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$3.69 PGK 16.19

49.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$4.91 PGK 21.53

146.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$5.74 PGK 25.15

71.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$6.51 PGK 28.52

155.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$3.93 PGK 17.21

2.29%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$3.13 PGK 13.74

0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$2.68 PGK 11.77

30.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$2.67 PGK 11.70

67.42%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$2.84 PGK 12.45

16.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$0.85 PGK 3.75

170.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$1.13 PGK 4.94

107.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.43 PGK 1.87

167.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$5.51 PGK 24.17

717.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$4.87 PGK 21.34

186.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.13 PGK 4.95

252.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$1.58 PGK 6.93

157.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.43 PGK 1.88

634.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$29.80 PGK 131

403.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$4.54 PGK 19.88

-24.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$1.36 PGK 5.96

19.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$11.18 PGK 49.00

257.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$0.79 PGK 3.47

77.22%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$20.6K PGK 90.3K

37.99%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$17.4K PGK 76.3K

68.94%

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

$220 A$315

$62.5 PGK 274

251.88%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$22.96 PGK 101

20.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$90.5 PGK 396

-38.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$42.26 PGK 185

75.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$14.52 PGK 63.6

64.94%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$6.56 PGK 28.74

170.27%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$328 PGK 1,439

557.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$2,247 PGK 9,849

1158.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$32.17 PGK 141

143.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$13.05 PGK 57.2

440.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$45.08 PGK 198

146.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$26.83 PGK 118

391.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$3,311 PGK 14.5K

-24.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$225 PGK 984

671.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$3,352 PGK 14.7K

45.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$224 PGK 982

1255.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$356 PGK 1,561

1046.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

-46.91%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Boroko: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Boroko

$225 25.2% 87% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Boroko

$211 23.6% 44.6% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Boroko

$176 19.7% 42% $127

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Boroko

$131 14.7% 56.2% $168

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Boroko

$53 5.9% 70.1% $124

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Boroko

$43 4.8% 75.4% $131

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Boroko

$55 6.2% 49.6% $54

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,514 in Sydney versus $3,311 in Boroko. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1046% higher in Sydney, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Sydney versus $35.00 in Boroko. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $380 vs $211 – making Boroko the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇵🇬 Boroko

🕒 Local time

20:04 8:04 PM

19:04 7:04 PM

1 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1 PGK = 0.228 USD

1 PGK = 0.203 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PGK, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Boroko 2,740 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Boroko

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

Sydney vs Boroko: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney costs about 261% more than Boroko, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,774 per month in Sydney and $1,324 in Boroko. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Boroko, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $2,157 per month in Sydney and $328 in Boroko. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 81% more in Sydney, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$2,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,182 in Sydney and $883 in Boroko. You'll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Boroko – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Boroko. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sydney makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.