Cost of living comparison

 Nuku'alofa, Tonga
compared to
 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Port Moresby is 2.9 times more expensive than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants
pay 28.6% less in Port Moresby
Groceries
pay 7.8% more in Port Moresby
Transportation
pay 47.1% more in Port Moresby
Housing
pay 49.8% more in Port Moresby
Childcare
pay 10.5 times more in Port Moresby
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.5% less in Port Moresby
Clothing
pay 4.6 times more in Port Moresby

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

Port Moresby vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

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

pay 28.6% less for restaurants

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.40
TOP20.23
$12.38
PGK50.86
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.50
TOP25.29
$7.43
PGK30.52
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.66
TOP6.41
$0.80
PGK3.27

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pay 7.8% more for groceries

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Bread
1 loaf
$1.05
TOP2.53
$1.49
PGK6.10
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.55
TOP10.96
$2.20
PGK9.03
Milk (1 gallon) $5.99
TOP14.42
$7.01
PGK28.81

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pay 47.1% more for transportation

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.57
TOP13.40
$4.29
PGK17.62
Monthly public transit pass $42.01
TOP101.15
$16.69
PGK68.55
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $5,881.34
TOP14,160.85
$25,877.21
PGK106,297.09

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pay 49.8% more for housing

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$126.03
TOP303.45
$309.54
PGK1,271.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $2,346.03
PGK9,636.93
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $609.17
PGK2,502.30

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pay 10.5 times more for childcare

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $159.64
TOP384.37
$494.23
PGK2,030.16
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $252.06
TOP606.89
$4,498.59
PGK18,479.08

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pay 25.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.36
TOP8.09
$2.48
PGK10.17
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.94
TOP7.08
$1.83
PGK7.53
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.29
TOP24.78
$7.48
PGK30.72

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

 
Nuku'alofa
Port Moresby
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$4.20
TOP10.11
$39.25
PGK161.23
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$17.85
TOP42.99
$44.57
PGK183.10
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$21.00
TOP50.57
$64.38
PGK264.47

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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: June 2025
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See the cost of living in Tonga vs. Papua New Guinea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

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