Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Male is 19.3% more expensive than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 35.3% less in Male
Groceries: pay 3.0% less in Male
Transportation: pay 35.8% more in Male
Housing: pay 13.3% more in Male
Childcare: pay 3.8 times more in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.3% less in Male
Clothing: pay 2.8 times more in Male

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

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Male vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.3% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$6.00 MVR92.74	-27.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$9.73 MVR150.39	-6.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$1.63 MVR25.12	-42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.30 MVR4.59	-87.9%
Average			-35.3%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.0% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$1.65 MVR25.57	+59.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$5.34 MVR82.43	+18.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$7.69 MVR118.80	+29.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$1.92 MVR29.70	-62.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.77 MVR42.73	+3.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.80 MVR27.83	+43.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.39 MVR21.40	+10.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$1.85 MVR28.65	+40.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.22 MVR18.84	-28.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.93 MVR14.40	-35.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.86 MVR13.30	-27.8%
Average			-3.0%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.8% more for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$3.81 MVR58.81	-30.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$30.82 MVR476.23	-25.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$32,446.46 MVR501K	+458.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$17.52 MVR270.70	-6.3%
Average			+35.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.3% more for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	-41.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	+52.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$699.92 MVR10,813.71
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	-36.3%
Average			+13.3%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	+17.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	+1105.8%
Average			+275.9%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$4.87 MVR75.19	+46.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$3.55 MVR54.84	+22.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$14.93 MVR230.60	+46.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	+127.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$9.73 MVR150.39	-76.6%
Average			-0.3%

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

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pay 2.8 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$39.51 MVR610.48	+171.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$49.64 MVR766.88	+181.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	+319.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$52.52 MVR811.39	+80.6%
Average			+175.9%

Nuku'alofa vs. Male - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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