Honiara vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Honiara	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1422	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2962	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$832	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$1327	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$469	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$32.6	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$148	$164
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	6	1
😀 Quality of life	46	28
🏙️ Population	84.5K	63.4K

The cost of living in Honiara is 164% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 4292nd and 8474th ($1422 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 2nd in the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, respectively. Check the Solomon Islands vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Honiara compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Honiara ranked 1st best city to live in the Solomon Islands vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 7164th and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/honiara/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Honiara vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/honiara/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Honiara vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Honiara vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Honiara and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Honiara	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.83	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$52.2	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.3	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.47	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$3.43	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.54	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$511	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$591	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$902	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$996	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$167	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$260	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$89.8	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	15.69%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1356	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$839	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.37	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$24.6	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.1	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.32	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.67	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.55	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.53	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.57	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.61	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.53	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.73	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.71	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.04	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.43	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.7	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$4.31	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.4	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.94	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.08	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.86	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.98	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.05	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.43	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$78	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$3.55	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$30	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$12.9	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$27.5	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$97.5	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$99.8	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$2860	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Honiara

Distance	City	Cost of living
110 km or 69 mi	Auki	$1422
1036 km or 644 mi	Luganville	$2062
1253 km or 779 mi	Yaren	$783
1291 km or 802 mi	Port Vila	$2068
1404 km or 872 mi	Port Moresby	$572
1459 km or 906 mi	Lae	$558
1569 km or 975 mi	Paita	$1865
1575 km or 979 mi	Dumbea	$1865
1587 km or 986 mi	Noumea	$1928
1745 km or 1084 mi	Cairns	$1695
1786 km or 1110 mi	Townsville	$1839
1847 km or 1148 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
1849 km or 1149 mi	Gladstone	$1640
1879 km or 1167 mi	South Tarawa	$538
1894 km or 1177 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
1915 km or 1190 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
2047 km or 1272 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
2060 km or 1280 mi	Caloundra	$1864
2093 km or 1301 mi	Caboolture	$1988
2098 km or 1304 mi	Lautoka	$633
2102 km or 1306 mi	Nadi	$1039
2116 km or 1315 mi	Vaiaku	$714
2118 km or 1316 mi	Funafuti	$718
2133 km or 1325 mi	Brisbane	$2269
2158 km or 1341 mi	Ipswich	$1813
2172 km or 1350 mi	Southport	$2352
2177 km or 1353 mi	Gold Coast	$2528
2182 km or 1356 mi	Toowoomba	$1766
2216 km or 1377 mi	Suva	$879
2219 km or 1379 mi	Nasinu	$857
2222 km or 1381 mi	Majuro	$1507
2234 km or 1388 mi	Djarrit	$1510
2236 km or 1389 mi	Byron Bay	$2703
2260 km or 1404 mi	Jayapura	$506
2426 km or 1508 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2495 km or 1550 mi	Armidale	$1288
2552 km or 1586 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2743 km or 1705 mi	Newcastle	$1997
2794 km or 1736 mi	Dubbo	$1867
2846 km or 1768 mi	Dee Why	$2379

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1507
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1510
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$783
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$718
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1422
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2062
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$633
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1039
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$857
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$879
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$791
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1865
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1928
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$558
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$572
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$539
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1415
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2401
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3009
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1695
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$506
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1640
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1839
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2821
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1864
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1988
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2269
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2610