Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 3.1 times more expensive than Tonga overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.2% less in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 4.8% less in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 72.0% more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 38.0% less in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 13.4 times more in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.7% less in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 4.3 times more in El Salvador

The cost of childcare, clothing, and transportation in El Salvador are more expensive than in Tonga. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries are lower in El Salvador. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in El Salvador.

El Salvador vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Tonga, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.2% less for restaurants

	Tonga	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$5.50 SVC47.99	-33.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$6.33 SVC55.23	-39.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.99 SVC8.64	-65.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.81 SVC7.05	-67.1%
Average			-51.2%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.8% less for groceries

	Tonga	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$1.95 SVC17.01	+87.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$3.77 SVC32.86	-16.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$6.72 SVC58.61	+13.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.78 SVC24.25	-45.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.82 SVC24.64	+5.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.67 SVC14.60	+33.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.76 SVC6.60	-39.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$1.17 SVC10.17	-11.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.22 SVC10.61	-28.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.97 SVC8.44	-33.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.98 SVC8.51	-18.2%
Average			-4.8%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.0% more for transportation

	Tonga	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$3.75 SVC32.69	-31.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$15.00 SVC130.88	-63.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	+324.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$29.78 SVC259.88	+59.4%
Average			+72.0%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.0% less for housing

	Tonga	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$41.89 SVC365.49	-66.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	+7.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$502.78 SVC4,386.87
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$64.97 SVC566.86	-54.5%
Average			-38.0%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 13.4 times more for childcare

	Tonga	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	+3.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	+2476.3%
Average			+1239.7%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Tonga	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$2.00 SVC17.45	-39.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$2.83 SVC24.69	-2.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$4.00 SVC34.90	-60.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$30.27 SVC264.08	-2.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$5.17 SVC45.08	-87.6%
Average			-38.7%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3 times more for clothing

	Tonga	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$62.60 SVC546.20	+330.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$45.83 SVC399.91	+159.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+534.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$109.17 SVC952.51	+275.5%
Average			+325.1%

Tonga vs. El Salvador - 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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