Cost of living comparison

compared to

Solomon Islands vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

Solomon Islands is 1.6% more expensive than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.2% more in Solomon Islands
Groceries: pay 7.1% more in Solomon Islands
Transportation: pay 12.4% less in Solomon Islands
Housing: pay 41.1% more in Solomon Islands
Childcare: pay 57.0% less in Solomon Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in Solomon Islands
Clothing: pay 23.9% more in Solomon Islands

The cost of housing, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Solomon Islands are more expensive than in Papua New Guinea. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Solomon Islands instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.2% more for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.87 PGK75.83	$6.08 SBD50.04	-66.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.92 PGK25.13	$12.16 SBD100.08	+105.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.41	$1.37 SBD11.26	+70.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 PGK2.99	$1.06 SBD8.76	+51.0%
Average			+40.2%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.1% more for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 PGK6.59	$1.49 SBD12.22	-4.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 PGK15.29	$1.99 SBD16.35	-44.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.76 PGK32.93	$9.73 SBD80.10	+25.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.00 PGK16.99	$5.49 SBD45.19	+37.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.63 PGK15.41	$3.92 SBD32.23	+7.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 PGK8.44	$3.20 SBD26.33	+60.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 PGK5.61	$1.17 SBD9.65	-11.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.73 PGK11.60	$3.54 SBD29.14	+29.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 PGK6.89	$1.50 SBD12.35	-7.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 PGK6.71	$0.91 SBD7.49	-42.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 PGK5.01	$1.52 SBD12.48	+28.4%
Average			+7.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.4% less for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 PGK17.89	$4.90 SBD40.31	+16.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.69 PGK100.53	$24.32 SBD200.16	+2.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,387.96 PGK94,999.61	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.88 PGK105.56	$10.94 SBD90.07	-56.0%
Average			-12.4%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.1% more for housing

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$165.84 PGK703.70	$88.16 SBD725.60	-46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,652.44 PGK11,255.17	$547.19 SBD4,503.70	-79.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.54 PGK3,218.75	$638.39 SBD5,254.32	-15.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.08 PGK339.79	$325.45 SBD2,678.67	+306.4%
Average			+41.1%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 57.0% less for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$631.76 PGK2,680.77	$97.28 SBD800.66	-84.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,968.24 PGK16,838.56	$2,796.75 SBD23,018.93	-29.5%
Average			-57.0%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 PGK12.63	$1.82 SBD15.01	-38.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 PGK10.85	$3.13 SBD25.77	+22.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 PGK29.52	$4.01 SBD33.03	-42.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$73.52 PGK311.97	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.30 PGK43.71	$3.34 SBD27.52	-67.5%
Average			-31.5%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.9% more for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	Solomon Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.15 PGK132.20	$20.59 SBD169.47	-33.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.48 PGK154.81	$91.20 SBD750.62	+150.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.40 PGK324.21	$77.01 SBD633.85	+0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.73 PGK414.68	$77.01 SBD633.85	-21.2%
Average			+23.9%

Papua New Guinea vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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