Cost of living comparison

Vanuatu

compared to

French Polynesia

Papeete vs. Port Vila Cost of Living Summary

Papeete is 16.0% cheaper than Port Vila.

Restaurants: pay 26.7% more in Papeete
Groceries: pay 12.7% less in Papeete
Transportation: pay 17.9% less in Papeete
Housing: pay 33.8% less in Papeete
Childcare: pay 1.2% more in Papeete
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.9% less in Papeete
Clothing: pay 9.8% more in Papeete

The cost of restaurants, clothing, and childcare in Papeete are more expensive than in Port Vila. Expenses including housing, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Papeete.

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Papeete vs. Port Vila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Papeete instead of Port Vila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.7% more for restaurants

	Port Vila	Papeete
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.67 VUV1,500	$18.77 CFPF1,993	+48.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.35 VUV1,700	$14.78 CFPF1,570	+3.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 VUV270	$2.67 CFPF284	+17.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 VUV279	$3.28 CFPF349	+39.4%
Average			+26.7%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.7% less for groceries

	Port Vila	Papeete
Bread 1 loaf	$1.94 VUV230	$2.67 CFPF284	+37.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.86 VUV1,050	$13.92 CFPF1,478	+57.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 VUV1,259	$5.55 CFPF589	-47.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.23 VUV737	$6.27 CFPF666	+0.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.40 VUV877	$6.92 CFPF735	-6.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 VUV384	$2.13 CFPF226	-34.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 VUV113	$1.12 CFPF119	+16.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 VUV211	$2.98 CFPF316	+67.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.21 VUV499	$3.56 CFPF379	-15.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$4.02 VUV476	$1.22 CFPF130	-69.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.57 VUV186	$1.01 CFPF107	-35.6%
Average			-12.7%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.9% less for transportation

	Port Vila	Papeete
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.78 VUV803	$5.64 CFPF599	-16.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.55 VUV8,000	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,220.47 VUV3M	$18,766.76 CFPF2M	-19.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.29 VUV1,100	??
Average			-17.9%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.8% less for housing

	Port Vila	Papeete
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$363.08 VUV43,000	$69.67 CFPF7,400	-80.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,579.90 VUV187K	$1,337.13 CFPF142K	-15.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,131.05 VUV134K	$938.34 CFPF99,660	-17.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$484.28 VUV57,353	$138.13 CFPF14,671	-71.5%
Average			-33.8%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of housing

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pay 1.2% more for childcare

	Port Vila	Papeete
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$624.84 VUV74,000	$469.17 CFPF49,830	-24.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,873.26 VUV814K	$9,383.38 CFPF997K	+36.5%
Average			+1.2%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Port Vila	Papeete
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.07 VUV600	$3.28 CFPF349	-35.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.08 VUV483	$3.40 CFPF361	-16.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.29 VUV1,100	$12.86 CFPF1,365	+38.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.29 VUV8,088	$84.45 CFPF8,969	+23.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$14.08 CFPF1,495
Average			-4.9%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.8% more for clothing

	Port Vila	Papeete
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.99 VUV4,854	$68.78 CFPF7,305	+67.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$67.55 VUV8,000	$71.91 CFPF7,637	+6.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.40 VUV9,995	$78.16 CFPF8,302	-7.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$101.28 VUV11,995	$89.14 CFPF9,468	-12.0%
Average			+9.8%

Port Vila vs. Papeete - 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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See the cost of living in Vanuatu vs. French Polynesia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vanuatu and French Polynesia.

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