Cost of living comparison

Solomon Islands

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Solomon Islands Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 27.5% cheaper than Solomon Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 8.3% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 38.4% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 58.8% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Childcare: pay 33.2% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 62.1% less in Sao Tome and Principe

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

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Sao Tome and Principe vs. Solomon Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Solomon Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% less for restaurants

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.82 SBD55.00	$8.96 STD200K	+31.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.40 SBD100.00	$7.89 STD176K	-36.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.55 SBD12.50	$1.84 STD41,004	+18.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 SBD8.75	$1.25 STD27,770	+14.9%
Average			-0.5%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.3% less for groceries

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 SBD12.08	$1.00 STD22,187	-33.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.27 SBD26.33	$9.80 STD218K	+200.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.62 SBD77.60	$5.87 STD131K	-39.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.60 SBD45.20	$4.85 STD108K	-13.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.87 SBD31.18	$8.89 STD198K	+129.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.85 SBD23.02	$1.70 STD37,881	-40.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.20 SBD9.64	$0.79 STD17,644	-33.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.88 SBD31.30	$1.63 STD36,419	-57.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 SBD13.61	$1.57 STD34,958	-7.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 SBD7.17	$1.31 STD29,299	+48.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.55 SBD12.47	$1.08 STD23,986	-30.4%
Average			-8.3%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.4% more for transportation

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 SBD40.27	$6.46 STD144K	+29.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.80 SBD199.99	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,598.79 SBD150K	$24,634.18 STD549M	+32.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.16 SBD90.00	$22.43 STD500K	+101.0%
Average			+38.4%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.8% less for housing

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$89.89 SBD724.96	$66.91 STD1M	-25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$888.61 SBD7,166.32	$284.91 STD6M	-67.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$433.97 SBD3,499.83	$195.02 STD4M	-55.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$331.86 SBD2,676.34	$174.83 STD4M	-47.3%
Average			-58.8%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay 33.2% more for childcare

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$99.19 SBD799.96	$228.62 STD5M	+130.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,851.81 SBD22,998.88	$2,194.77 STD49M	-23.0%
Average			+33.2%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.48 SBD20.00	$1.70 STD37,799	-31.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 SBD27.50	$2.26 STD50,442	-33.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.15 SBD33.50	$2.26 STD50,420	-45.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.20 SBD299.99	$33.92 STD756K	-8.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.34 SBD35.00	$20.16 STD449K	+364.4%
Average			+15.3%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.1% less for clothing

	Solomon Islands	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.28 SBD219.99	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$92.99 SBD749.96	$75.02 STD2M	-19.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.13 SBD783.30	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.29 SBD832.96	$18.36 STD409K	-82.2%
Average			-62.1%

Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe - 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

Compare further: Solomon Islands vs. Sao Tome and Principe

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Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 6.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Sao Tome and Principe

Size Comparison · See true size

Solomon Islands is about 30 times bigger than Sao Tome and Principe.

Moving from Solomon Islands to Sao Tome and Principe · Cost, visas & climate

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