Cost of living comparison

Australia

compared to

French Polynesia

Papeete vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

Papeete is 15.3% cheaper than Canberra.

Restaurants: pay 18.1% more in Papeete
Groceries: pay 17.1% more in Papeete
Transportation: pay 10.4% less in Papeete
Housing: pay 24.2% less in Papeete
Childcare: pay 69.7% less in Papeete
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.7% less in Papeete
Clothing: pay 14.9% less in Papeete

The cost of restaurants and groceries in Papeete are more expensive than in Canberra. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation are lower in Papeete.

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Papeete vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Papeete instead of Canberra, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.1% more for restaurants

	Canberra	Papeete
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.41 A$25.04	$18.77 CFPF1,993	+7.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.44 A$15.02	$14.78 CFPF1,570	+41.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.09 A$4.45	$2.67 CFPF284	-13.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.55 A$3.67	$3.28 CFPF349	+28.6%
Average			+18.1%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.1% more for groceries

	Canberra	Papeete
Bread 1 loaf	$3.25 A$4.68	$2.67 CFPF284	-17.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.48 A$9.32	$13.92 CFPF1,478	+114.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.82 A$8.37	$5.55 CFPF589	-4.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.26 A$7.56	$6.27 CFPF666	+19.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.47 A$6.44	$6.92 CFPF735	+54.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 A$2.58	$2.13 CFPF226	+18.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.43 A$2.06	$1.12 CFPF119	-21.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 A$2.28	$2.98 CFPF316	+87.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.36 A$3.39	$3.56 CFPF379	+51.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.41 A$2.03	$1.22 CFPF130	-13.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 A$1.81	$1.01 CFPF107	-19.9%
Average			+17.1%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.4% less for transportation

	Canberra	Papeete
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.07 A$7.30	$5.64 CFPF599	+11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$92.46 A$133.02	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,937.53 A$38,753.46	$18,766.76 CFPF2M	-30.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.79 A$24.16	??
Average			-10.4%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.2% less for housing

	Canberra	Papeete
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$55.39 A$79.69	$69.67 CFPF7,400	+25.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,743.39 A$2,508.11	$1,337.13 CFPF142K	-23.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,478.12 A$2,126.48	$938.34 CFPF99,660	-36.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$139.13 A$200.16	$138.13 CFPF14,671	-0.7%
Average			-24.2%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of housing

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pay 69.7% less for childcare

	Canberra	Papeete
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,367.60 A$3,406.13	$469.17 CFPF49,830	-80.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,280.48 A$29,176.35	$9,383.38 CFPF997K	-53.7%
Average			-69.7%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Canberra	Papeete
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.35 A$12.02	$3.28 CFPF349	-60.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.03 A$5.79	$3.40 CFPF361	-15.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$44.55 A$64.09	$12.86 CFPF1,365	-71.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$82.62 A$118.86	$84.45 CFPF8,969	+2.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.67 A$22.54	$14.08 CFPF1,495	-10.2%
Average			-30.7%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.9% less for clothing

	Canberra	Papeete
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.36 A$109.86	$68.78 CFPF7,305	-9.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.12 A$80.74	$71.91 CFPF7,637	+28.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.35 A$167.39	$78.16 CFPF8,302	-32.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.92 A$189.79	$89.14 CFPF9,468	-32.4%
Average			-14.9%

Canberra vs. Papeete - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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