Port Vila vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Port Vila	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2068	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4395	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$1302	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$2138	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$610	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$48.7	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$217	$164
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	6 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	1	1
😀 Quality of life	50	28
🏙️ Population	49K	63.4K

The cost of living in Port Vila is 284% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 1864th and 8474th ($2068 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Vanuatu and Kiribati, respectively. Check Vanuatu vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Port Vila compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Port Vila ranked 1st best city to live in Vanuatu vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 6702nd and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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

Prices in Port Vila vs South Tarawa

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

	Port Vila	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$12.4	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$61.1	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.37	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.95	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$5.48	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.59	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1547	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1018	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2804	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1705	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$65.7	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$101	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$112	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.94%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4262	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2319	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.46	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$66.6	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.77	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.86	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.5	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.47	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.53	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.59	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.5	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.5	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.42	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.92	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.97	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.4	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.15	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.12	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.71	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$5.27	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.7	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.97	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.57	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.97	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.58	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.82	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.73	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$66.8	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$12	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$42.2	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.4	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$37.3	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$87.9	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$612	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$6804	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Port Vila

Distance	City	Cost of living
274 km or 171 mi	Luganville	$2062
526 km or 327 mi	Dumbea	$1865
528 km or 328 mi	Paita	$1865
538 km or 334 mi	Noumea	$1928
965 km or 600 mi	Nadi	$1039
970 km or 603 mi	Lautoka	$633
1073 km or 667 mi	Suva	$879
1080 km or 671 mi	Nasinu	$857
1291 km or 802 mi	Honiara	$1422
1293 km or 804 mi	Auki	$1422
1563 km or 971 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1565 km or 972 mi	Funafuti	$718
1769 km or 1099 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
1779 km or 1105 mi	Mua	$1033
1800 km or 1119 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
1829 km or 1137 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
1852 km or 1151 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
1855 km or 1152 mi	Caloundra	$1864
1883 km or 1170 mi	Caboolture	$1988
1895 km or 1178 mi	Gladstone	$1640
1900 km or 1181 mi	Southport	$2352
1901 km or 1181 mi	Brisbane	$2269
1903 km or 1182 mi	Gold Coast	$2528
1919 km or 1192 mi	Yaren	$783
1925 km or 1196 mi	Byron Bay	$2703
1932 km or 1200 mi	Ipswich	$1813
1953 km or 1214 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
1997 km or 1241 mi	Toowoomba	$1766
2076 km or 1290 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
2085 km or 1296 mi	Whangarei	$1261
2123 km or 1319 mi	Manase	$790
2169 km or 1347 mi	Apia	$791
2172 km or 1350 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
2189 km or 1360 mi	Hibiscus Coast	$1782
2190 km or 1361 mi	South Tarawa	$538
2199 km or 1367 mi	Armidale	$1288
2217 km or 1377 mi	Auckland	$2156
2220 km or 1380 mi	Waitakere	$1778
2234 km or 1388 mi	Manukau	$1646
2257 km or 1402 mi	Pukekohe	$1527

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