Tonga vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

Tonga is 1.5% cheaper than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants
pay 1.4% more in Tonga
Groceries
pay 31.9% less in Tonga
Transportation
pay 31.8% less in Tonga
Housing
pay 48.7% more in Tonga
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.7% less in Tonga

The cost of housing and restaurants in Tonga are more expensive than in Cook Islands. Expenses including groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Tonga.

Tonga vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tonga instead of Cook Islands, you would:

pay 1.4% more for restaurants

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.01
NZ$25.24
$8.31
TOP20.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.60
NZ$10.10
$10.38
TOP25.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.24
NZ$4.04
$2.84
TOP6.83

Improve prices ·

pay 31.9% less for groceries

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Bread
1 loaf
$2.80
NZ$5.05
$1.04
TOP2.50
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.64
NZ$6.56
$4.50
TOP10.83
Milk (1 gallon) $10.60
NZ$19.11
$5.92
TOP14.26

Improve prices ·

pay 31.8% less for transportation

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.38
NZ$11.50
$5.50
TOP13.25
Monthly public transit pass ?? $41.53
TOP100.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $11,204.09
NZ$20,193.01
$5,814.53
TOP14,000.00

Improve prices ·

pay 48.7% more for housing

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$102.89
NZ$185.44
$124.60
TOP300.00
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $448.16
NZ$807.72
$622.99
TOP1,500.00
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $448.16
NZ$807.72
??

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $157.82
TOP380.00
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $249.19
TOP600.00

Improve prices ·

pay 21.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.04
NZ$9.09
$3.32
TOP8.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.36
NZ$6.06
$2.91
TOP7.00
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.20
NZ$20.19
$10.18
TOP24.50

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Cook Islands
Tonga
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $14.54
TOP35.00
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $17.65
TOP42.50
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $20.77
TOP50.00

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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Avarua vs. Nuku'alofa

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 Tonga or Cook Islands. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.