Cost of living comparison

compared to

Port Moresby vs. Castries Cost of Living Summary

Port Moresby is 29.2% more expensive than Castries.

Restaurants
pay 29.7% less in Port Moresby
Groceries
pay 15.7% less in Port Moresby
Transportation
pay 7.3% more in Port Moresby
Housing
pay 2.0 times more in Port Moresby
Childcare
pay 4.0 times more in Port Moresby
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.1% more in Port Moresby
Clothing
pay 18.4% less in Port Moresby

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Port Moresby are more expensive than in Castries. Expenses including restaurants, clothing, and groceries are lower in Port Moresby. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Port Moresby.

Port Moresby vs. Castries Cost Breakdown

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

pay 29.7% less for restaurants

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.25
EC$25.00
$7.78
PGK35.37
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.33
EC$22.50
$5.56
PGK25.27
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.94
EC$5.25
$0.75
PGK3.41

Improve prices ·

pay 15.7% less for groceries

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Bread
1 loaf
$1.86
EC$5.02
$1.52
PGK6.91
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.61
EC$15.17
$4.32
PGK19.64
Milk (1 gallon) $7.75
EC$20.95
$7.10
PGK32.28

Improve prices ·

pay 7.3% more for transportation

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.83
EC$15.75
$3.78
PGK17.18
Monthly public transit pass ?? $22.22
PGK101.06
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,901.46
EC$70,000.00
$50,004.77
PGK227K

Improve prices ·

pay 2.0 times more for housing

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.60
EC$131.33
$91.68
PGK416.89
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $456.36
EC$1,233.33
$1,603.86
PGK7,293.44
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $345.35
EC$933.33
$555.61
PGK2,526.59

Improve prices ·

pay 4.0 times more for childcare

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $212.76
EC$575.00
$842.47
PGK3,831.07
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $6,176.41
PGK28,086.83

Improve prices ·

pay 12.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.78
EC$7.50
$3.00
PGK13.64
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.70
EC$10.00
$2.47
PGK11.24
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.25
EC$25.00
$6.45
PGK29.31

Improve prices ·

pay 18.4% less for clothing

 
Castries
Port Moresby
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$83.25
EC$225.00
$32.73
PGK148.82
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$50.88
EC$137.50
$31.67
PGK144.02
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.01
EC$300.00
$136.12
PGK619.02

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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