Cost of living comparison

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

compared to

Port Vila, Vanuatu

Port Vila vs. Port Moresby Cost of Living Summary

Port Vila is 62.6% more expensive than Port Moresby.

Restaurants: pay 71.6% more in Port Vila
Groceries: pay 60.7% more in Port Vila
Transportation: pay 75.2% more in Port Vila
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Port Vila
Childcare: pay 20.7% more in Port Vila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 83.2% more in Port Vila
Clothing: pay 19.4% more in Port Vila

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and childcare in Port Vila are more expensive than in Port Moresby. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Port Vila.

Port Vila vs. Port Moresby Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Port Vila instead of Port Moresby, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 71.6% more for restaurants

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.38 PGK51.03	$11.23 VUV1,334	-9.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 PGK30.62	$9.60 VUV1,139	+29.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.28	$2.17 VUV257	+172.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 PGK3.67	$1.73 VUV206	+94.3%
Average			+71.6%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.7% more for groceries

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 PGK6.12	$2.46 VUV293	+65.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.20 PGK9.06	$10.11 VUV1,200	+359.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 PGK28.91	$8.55 VUV1,014	+21.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.68 PGK15.19	$5.20 VUV618	+41.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 PGK13.50	$8.41 VUV998	+156.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 PGK6.41	$2.23 VUV265	+43.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.19 PGK4.92	$0.96 VUV113	-20.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.74 PGK7.18	$2.53 VUV301	+45.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 PGK8.33	$1.15 VUV136	-43.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 PGK6.48	$1.98 VUV235	+26.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PGK5.63	$0.96 VUV114	-29.5%
Average			+60.7%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.2% more for transportation

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.29 PGK17.68	$7.17 VUV852	+67.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.69 PGK68.78	$67.38 VUV8,000	+303.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,877.21 PGK106,653.16	$23,163.36 VUV2,750,000	-10.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 PGK90.83	$8.84 VUV1,050	-59.9%
Average			+75.2%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$309.54 PGK1,275.76	$228.83 VUV27,167	-26.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,346.03 PGK9,669.21	$1,867.11 VUV221,667	-20.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$609.17 PGK2,510.69	$1,407.24 VUV167,070	+131.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.11 PGK321.94	$347.82 VUV41,294	+345.3%
Average			+107.5%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of housing

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pay 20.7% more for childcare

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$494.23 PGK2,036.96	$469.58 VUV55,750	-5.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,498.59 PGK18,540.98	$6,586.82 VUV782,000	+46.4%
Average			+20.7%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of childcare

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pay 83.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 PGK10.21	$4.59 VUV545	+85.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.83 PGK7.55	$5.09 VUV604	+177.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.48 PGK30.82	$9.27 VUV1,100	+23.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 PGK186.26	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.67 PGK35.72	$12.63 VUV1,500	+45.8%
Average			+83.2%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.4% more for clothing

	Port Moresby	Port Vila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.25 PGK161.77	$46.33 VUV5,500	+18.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.57 PGK183.71	$67.38 VUV8,000	+51.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.38 PGK265.36	$101.08 VUV12,000	+57.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.43 PGK405.69	$50.54 VUV6,000	-48.7%
Average			+19.4%

Port Moresby vs. Port Vila - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2025

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

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