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:

Display currency: USD

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	+47.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.50 TOP25.29	$7.43 PGK30.52	-29.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.66 TOP6.41	$0.80 PGK3.27	-70.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.38 TOP5.73	$0.89 PGK3.66	-62.6%
Average			-28.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.8% more for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Port Moresby
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 TOP2.53	$1.49 PGK6.10	+41.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.55 TOP10.96	$2.20 PGK9.03	-51.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.99 TOP14.42	$7.01 PGK28.81	+17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.15 TOP12.41	$3.68 PGK15.14	-28.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.70 TOP6.50	$3.28 PGK13.46	+21.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 TOP3.06	$1.56 PGK6.39	+22.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 TOP3.06	$1.19 PGK4.91	-6.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 TOP3.21	$1.74 PGK7.16	+30.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.71 TOP4.13	$2.02 PGK8.31	+17.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 TOP3.52	$1.57 PGK6.46	+7.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.21 TOP2.91	$1.37 PGK5.61	+13.2%
Average			+7.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.1% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Port Moresby
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.57 TOP13.40	$4.29 PGK17.62	-22.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.01 TOP101.15	$16.69 PGK68.55	-60.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,881.34 TOP14,160.85	$25,877.21 PGK106,297.09	+340.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$69.32 TOP166.90	$22.04 PGK90.53	-68.2%
Average			+47.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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	+145.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	??	$2,346.03 PGK9,636.93
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$609.17 PGK2,502.30
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.56 TOP348.07	$78.11 PGK320.87	-46.0%
Average			+49.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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	+209.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$252.06 TOP606.89	$4,498.59 PGK18,479.08	+1684.7%
Average			+947.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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	-26.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.94 TOP7.08	$1.83 PGK7.53	-37.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.29 TOP24.78	$7.48 PGK30.72	-27.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.51 TOP75.86	$45.19 PGK185.64	+43.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$42.01 TOP101.15	$8.67 PGK35.60	-79.4%
Average			-25.5%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.6 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Port Moresby
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$4.20 TOP10.11	$39.25 PGK161.23	+834.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.85 TOP42.99	$44.57 PGK183.10	+149.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$21.00 TOP50.57	$64.38 PGK264.47	+206.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.41 TOP70.80	$98.43 PGK404.34	+234.7%
Average			+356.3%

Nuku'alofa vs. Port Moresby - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Nuku'alofa vs.

Phnom Penh

Nuku'alofa vs.

Warsaw

Nuku'alofa vs.

Dodoma

Nuku'alofa vs.

Canberra

Nuku'alofa vs.

Mexico City

Nuku'alofa vs.

Reykjavik

Nuku'alofa vs.

London

Nuku'alofa vs.

Wellington

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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.

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

Add prices for Nuku'alofa

Add prices for Port Moresby

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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