Cost of living comparison

 Gaborone, Botswana
compared to
 Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Nuku'alofa vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 67.7% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries
pay 79.8% more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation
pay 65.3% more in Nuku'alofa
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare
pay 52.4% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5 times more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing
pay 62.7% less in Nuku'alofa

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and transportation in Nuku'alofa are more expensive than in Gaborone. Expenses including clothing and childcare are lower in Nuku'alofa. Notably, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Nuku'alofa.

Nuku'alofa vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Gaborone, you would:

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.50
BWP102.39
$8.40
TOP20.23
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.00
BWP81.91
$10.50
TOP25.29
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.83
BWP11.37
$2.66
TOP6.41

Improve prices ·

pay 79.8% more for groceries

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Bread
1 loaf
$0.81
BWP11.10
$1.05
TOP2.53
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.37
BWP46.01
$4.55
TOP10.96
Milk (1 gallon) $5.06
BWP69.13
$5.99
TOP14.42

Improve prices ·

pay 65.3% more for transportation

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.27
BWP58.37
$5.57
TOP13.40
Monthly public transit pass $28.18
BWP385.00
$42.01
TOP101.15
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $22,486.26
BWP307,179.73
$5,881.34
TOP14,160.85

Improve prices ·

pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$90.60
BWP1,237.68
$126.03
TOP303.45
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $254.84
BWP3,481.37
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $149.91
BWP2,047.86
??

Improve prices ·

pay 52.4% less for childcare

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $180.24
BWP2,462.24
$159.64
TOP384.37
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,740.68
BWP51,100.63
$252.06
TOP606.89

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.25
BWP30.72
$3.36
TOP8.09
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.37
BWP32.37
$2.94
TOP7.08
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.75
BWP51.20
$10.29
TOP24.78

Improve prices ·

pay 62.7% less for clothing

 
Gaborone
Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$44.14
BWP602.98
$4.20
TOP10.11
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$22.17
BWP302.79
$17.85
TOP42.99
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$76.20
BWP1,041.00
$21.00
TOP50.57

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Botswana vs. Tonga. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Botswana and Tonga.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nuku'alofa or Gaborone. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.