Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Tonga

Nuku'alofa vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 36.3% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 49.0% more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 67.7% more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 23.9% less in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 64.8% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.0 times more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 57.0% less in Nuku'alofa

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Nuku'alofa are more expensive than in Gaborone. Expenses including childcare, clothing, and transportation are lower in Nuku'alofa. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Nuku'alofa.

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Nuku'alofa vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Gaborone, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.0% more for restaurants

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$8.31 TOP20.00	-23.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$10.38 TOP25.00	+79.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$2.84 TOP6.83	+292.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$2.46 TOP5.92	+490.9%
Average			+49.0%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 67.7% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.04 TOP2.50	+18.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$4.50 TOP10.83	+42.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$5.92 TOP14.26	+8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$5.09 TOP12.27	+106.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$2.67 TOP6.43	+26.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.26 TOP3.02	+67.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$1.26 TOP3.02	+96.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$1.32 TOP3.18	+46.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$1.70 TOP4.08	+129.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$1.44 TOP3.48	+148.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$1.19 TOP2.87	+125.7%
Average			+67.7%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.9% less for transportation

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$5.50 TOP13.25	+6.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$41.53 TOP100.00	+40.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-70.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$18.69 TOP45.00	-10.4%
Average			-23.9%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$124.60 TOP300.00	+196.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	+74.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$142.92 TOP344.12	+213.2%
Average			+111.3%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 64.8% less for childcare

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$157.82 TOP380.00	+24.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$249.19 TOP600.00	-90.0%
Average			-64.8%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$3.32 TOP8.00	+67.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$2.91 TOP7.00	+25.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$10.18 TOP24.50	+181.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$31.15 TOP75.00	-7.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$41.53 TOP100.00	+575.5%
Average			+103.4%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.0% less for clothing

	Gaborone	Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$14.54 TOP35.00	-69.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$17.65 TOP42.50	+5.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$20.77 TOP50.00	-71.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$29.07 TOP70.00	-62.9%
Average			-57.0%

Gaborone vs. Nuku'alofa - 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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