Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tonga and Vanuatu

Name: Vanuatu
Address: VU

For one person, living is cheaper in Tonga: $1,070 a month against $3,216 in Vanuatu, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Tonga
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Tonga Living Index
156

Cost of Living Index in Vanuatu
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Vanuatu Living Index

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🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,070

/mo nomad

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

$3,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tonga and in Vanuatu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,070 in Tonga versus $3,216 in Vanuatu.

Tonga $1,070
Vanuatu $3,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,905 in Tonga versus $4,324 in Vanuatu.

Tonga $1,905
Vanuatu $4,324

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,739 in Tonga versus $5,432 in Vanuatu.

Tonga $2,739
Vanuatu $5,432

Living in Tonga costs about 67% less than in Vanuatu on average.

Tonga (21% below) and Vanuatu (137% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.40 TOP 20.23

$12.42 VUV 1,457

-32.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 TOP 148

$55.9 VUV 6,553

9.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 TOP 25.48

$14.15 VUV 1,660

-25.23%

Cappuccino

$2.86 TOP 6.89

$3.97 VUV 466

-27.96%

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

$2.90 TOP 6.99

$2.30 VUV 270

26.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 TOP 6.07

$2.33 VUV 274

8.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 TOP 8.17

$5.03 VUV 590

-32.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 TOP 11.76

$7.35 VUV 863

-33.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 TOP 3.86

$3.13 VUV 367

-48.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 TOP 2.53

$2.50 VUV 293

-58.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 TOP 5.10

$3.86 VUV 452

-45.08%

Eggs

$4.94 TOP 11.91

$6.21 VUV 728

-20.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.76 TOP 21.11

$16.29 VUV 1,911

-46.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.95 TOP 14.34

$16.00 VUV 1,876

-62.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.61 TOP 18.32

$13.25 VUV 1,554

-42.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 TOP 6.57

$6.57 VUV 771

-58.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 TOP 6.62

$2.07 VUV 243

32.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 TOP 7.11

$3.91 VUV 459

-24.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 TOP 9.04

$10.09 VUV 1,184

-62.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.20 TOP 7.70

$8.96 VUV 1,052

-64.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.61 TOP 6.29

$4.34 VUV 510

-39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.23 TOP 5.37

$2.60 VUV 305

-14.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 TOP 3.36

$1.16 VUV 137

20.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.16 TOP 24.48

$9.57 VUV 1,122

6.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.20 TOP 41.44

$12.45 VUV 1,460

38.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 TOP 7.45

$2.94 VUV 344

5.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 TOP 8.19

$2.99 VUV 351

13.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.06 TOP 4.96

$1.29 VUV 151

59.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.49 TOP 100.0

$67.7 VUV 7,943

-38.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.12 TOP 5.11

$2.51 VUV 295

-15.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.06 TOP 4.96

$0.81 VUV 95.4

154.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.51 TOP 100

$5.00 VUV 587

730.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 TOP 3.54

$1.84 VUV 216

-20.11%

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

$5,897 TOP 14.2K

$23.0K VUV 2.7M

-74.41%

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

$8,405 TOP 20.2K

$37.3K VUV 4.4M

-77.48%

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

$188 TOP 453

$624 VUV 73.2K

-69.87%

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

$22.53 TOP 54.3

$22.95 VUV 2,692

-1.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$122 TOP 295

$360 VUV 42.2K

-66.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.75 TOP 76.5

$67.9 VUV 7,963

-53.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.46 TOP 99.9

$16.80 VUV 1,971

146.79%

Cinema Ticket

$41.90 TOP 101

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

$158 TOP 381

$632 VUV 74.1K

-75.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$253 TOP 610

$6,850 VUV 803.5K

-96.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.63 TOP 35.23

$40.81 VUV 4,787

-64.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.80 TOP 42.88

$66.5 VUV 7,797

-73.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.73 TOP 49.93

$85.2 VUV 9,991

-75.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.54 TOP 68.8

$103 VUV 12.1K

-72.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$628 TOP 1,512

$1,566 VUV 183.7K

-59.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$49.33 TOP 119

$1,198 VUV 140.6K

-95.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$827 TOP 1,992

$3,359 VUV 394.0K

-75.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$587 TOP 1,413

$1,897 VUV 222.5K

-69.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$408 TOP 982

$6,080 VUV 713.1K

-93.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$244 TOP 588

$2,184 VUV 256.2K

-88.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$682 TOP 1,642

$345 VUV 40.4K

97.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.18

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

Last update for Tonga: October 17, 2026

Last update for Vanuatu: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tonga

$333 31.1%

Vanuatu

$1K 31.3% 202% $674

Groceries & Markets

Tonga

$291 27.2%

Vanuatu

$482 15% 65.4% $191

Eating Out

Tonga

$182 17%

Vanuatu

$248 7.7% 36.4% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Tonga

$116 10.8%

Vanuatu

$68 * 2.1% 41.3% $48

Getting Around

Tonga

$62 5.8%

Vanuatu

$79 2.5% 27.8% $17

Accommodation & Living

Tonga

$49 4.6%

Vanuatu

$1.2K 37.3% 2329% $1.1K

Clothing & Footwear

Tonga

$37 3.4%

Vanuatu

$133 4.1% 262% $96

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $206 in Tonga, $794 in Vanuatu. Capital cities: $619 in Nuku'alofa vs $1,587 in Port Vila.

National salary averages: $672 in Tonga, $488 in Vanuatu. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 285% higher in Vanuatu.

Dining out costs 33% more in Vanuatu.

Public transport is 136% more expensive in Vanuatu.

Salaries are 38% higher in Tonga, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Tonga.

Good to know

🇹🇴 Tonga

🇻🇺 Vanuatu

🕒 Local time

03:47 3:47 AM

01:47 1:47 AM

2 h behind Tonga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,020

300,019

💱 Currency

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

Vanuatu Vatu VUV Vt

📈 Exchange rate

1 TOP = 0.415 USD

1 TOP = 0.369 EUR

1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD

1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VUV, USD, EUR to TOP – Tongan Paʻanga Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇴 Tongan Paʻanga (T$)

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 2.41 TOP (1 TOP = 0.415 USD). 1 EUR = 2.71 TOP (1 TOP = 0.369 EUR).

Vanuatu Vatu exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 117 VUV (1,000 VUV = 8.53 USD). 1 EUR = 132 VUV (1,000 VUV = 7.58 EUR).

USD to TOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tonga Vanuatu 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Tonga
Vanuatu

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

Tonga vs Vanuatu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,070 per month in Tonga and $3,216 in Vanuatu, there's a 201% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Tonga: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $794 in Vanuatu and $206 in Tonga. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Tonga, $1,000 covers most cities easily; in Vanuatu it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: Tonga wins on affordability; Vanuatu may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.