When we moved from England to St Kitts in 2019, we knew that being on a small island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea would ultimately mean the cost of living in St Kitts would be higher that we were used to. Where we lived near Nottingham in England was not a high area for living costs and the change in living expenses for us seems similar to if we had moved to London.

Here on St Kitts, there are only a handful of large supermarkets and even fewer other stores, so after 4 years living in St Kitts we have put together this cost of living in St Kitts comparison to help future expats from the UK or US to know what it costs to live in St Kitts.

Our current monthly expenses are around $2300USD.

Grocery stores on St Kitts

There are a couple of different supermarkets to choose from when shopping on St Kitts and Rams supermarket seems to be the most popular with expats as they have many imported goods that you would see at home. They also now do a Rams online delivery service.

The other St Kitts grocery stores that are easily accessible and generally little cheaper are IGA Valu Mart and Best Buy which has 2 locations. You can also buy fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers who tend to set up street stands around the island, the most common places for these are on Liverpool Row in Basseterre and along Pond Road.

There is also a weekend market in Basseterre where you can get all kinds of local produce.

The prices in this post are all based on shopping at Rams supermarket on St Kitts so you can do your own comparison with your home grocery store.

At the time of this post (2023) the exchange rate was $1 USD = $2.7 XCD and £1 = $3.35XCD

Grocery shopping costs in St Kitts

Toiletries

• Toilet rolls $6XCD for 6 rolls
• Deodorant $13.95XCD a can $8.95XCD roll on
• Shampoo large bottle supermarket brand $15.95XCD tresemme or similar $28.95XCD
• Hand soap small bottle $7.95 XCD
• Toothpaste $10.95XCD

Groceries

• 1 gallon Milk $24.95XCD
• Sliced loaf of bread from local bakery $9.00XCD
• Chicken breasts pack of 2 $15XCD
• Local Minced beef $18XCD
• Potatoes 5lb bag $16XCD
• Green cabbage $2.10XCD/lb
• Red peppers $7.95XCD/lb
• Locally grown salad $12.95XCD
• Crisps-sharing bag between $7.50-$18.95XCD
• PG tips tea bags 100 $22.95XCD
• Chocolate Cadburys dairy milk 600g bar $22.95XCD
• Cheap bottle of Wine $29.95XCD
• Local Carib Beer $3.50XCD from the supermarket or you can buy directly from Carib Brewery which is much cheaper and you get a refund on returned crates and bottles ($10XCD for a full crate and $0.25XCD per bottle).

Medication

• Paracetamol $8XCD for 100 tablets
• Ibuprofen $39.95XCD for 100 tablets
• Antihistamine $7.90XCD
• Cold/flu meds $8.90XCD
• Plasters $15.95XCD

Petrol/diesel costs in St Kitts

The cost of petrol and diesel in St Kitts is relatively cheap compared to the UK we can easily fill our Honda CRV with petrol from empty to full for around $140XCD. This last us for almost a month, but I would say that is definitely relative to the size of the island as we don’t really travel very far.

Buying a car in St Kitts

The cost of buying a vehicle on island should really warrant a post of its own but I’ll try and be brief. Cars here are REALLY EXPENSIVE!!! The initial cost of a car here compared to at home is roughly 6000% more*

For our 2005 Honda CRV with minor cosmetic wear and around 200,000km on the clock we paid $7500USD. At home the same car would likely have been sent for scrap or you’d be lucky to get £500 for it.

For our second car we opted for something a little more conservative, a traditional ‘island car’ which was a 2000 Nissan sunny Ex-Saloon with who know how many miles because the odometer was broken. It also had 2 decent cracks across the windscreen and several holes in the doors and roof where it’s rusted through so the rain could get in, only the driver’s window went up and down and it had no working A/C, but we ONLY paid $900USD!

Yep, that’s right. Car prices are officially mental.

The reason cars are so extortionate is because the government charges basically the same as what you pay for a car in import taxes so if a car costs $4000USD to import you pay around 75% in taxes taking the car to $7000USD. The import tax isn’t just added to the value of the car either, it’s also added to the shipping costs.

If you choose to import your own reliable car then you also get charged a disposal levy on top for ‘wasted cars you aren’t buying’. They don’t actually dispose of any cars though so they just kinda sit around and start growing grass and trees through them or become homes for goats and sheep.

Importing cars is still one of the best ways to ensure you get a reliable car that isn’t going to break after 6 months and you can generally make back the same price as you paid to get it imported when the time comes to sell. Most people importing cars get them from Japan and use Be Forward to handle everything.

The other thing to remember is that being a tiny island car parts aren’t readily available unless it’s one of the common makes and models on island. Like Honda CRV, Mazda Demio, Nissan Sunny, Nissan March to name a few.

So if you do happen to crash your car you will be waiting for replacement parts for at least 6 months but probably more likely up to a year!

*may be a slight exaggeration on the inflation costs but see the official government tax and duty guidelines for up to date information.

Housing/Rent prices in St Kitts

Rent will be determined 100% by where you want to live on the island. If you want to live in Frigate Bay where the expats tend to congregate and where there are ample beaches, bars and restaurants all within a relatively short distance then you will inevitably pay more.

However, if you are and happy to venture further round the island into the more rural spots than you will find some great prices for rent. But bear in mind that whatever the price is that is advertised for rent it doesn’t necessarily include utilities and what you get for that price 1 bed, 2 beds and 3 beds will change dramatically especially with or without pool.

You also have to think about coastal versus inland properties. Living near the coast means you will have a fantastic view and a nice breeze coming through your apartment which means running less fans and air conditioning. Coastal properties tend to be higher priced than inland properties, while inland properties tend to have a bigger garden. It all depends on what you want to priortise, we always choose a beautiful sea view.

Average costs of apartments based on research in 2023

For a studio apartment in the Frigate Bay area $600-900USD/month including everything but electricity.

For 1 bed 1 bath in Frigate Bay Area $1000-1300USD/month including everything but electricity.

For 2 bed 2 bath in Frigate Bay area $1200-1800USD/month including everything but electricity.

For 3 beds+ $2000USD upwards.

This will obviously go up exponentially if your place includes a pool and pool maintenance must also be included in utilities.

Utilities

Gas

On average we use gas for our stove and oven multiple times a day for cooking and we replace our gas tank once every 6 months and it cost $140XCD. We always have 2 tanks set up ready so if one suddenly empty, we can switch to the new one and it gives the company enough time to deliver a replacement.

Electricity

The electric on island is sporadic a lot of the time as there is only one electric company that everyone is as mercy of. Sometimes the electric can get off if there is a heavy rainstorm or other times it can randomly fail.

Most of the time the company can have the grid up and running within 24 hours unless the outage is island wide and then they have to send multiple teams of engineers to assess the damages. It doesn’t help that sometimes the main plant catches fire (NOT JOKING!).

For our 2-bedroom 2-bathroom apartment with a mixture of 110v and 220v outlets we pay around $250 XCD per month and that is with us using our air conditioning every night in our bedroom. We also keep our ceiling fans on in every room to circulate air and we have a fan on at all times for the dog.

Lewis also rigged up a solar system for us to use during the day which completely powers our computers and anything we use during the day and even the air conditioning or the fridge for a couple of hours if the power does go out. We just have to be careful when we have tropical storm alerts or hurricanes that we bring them inside, so they don’t get damaged.

Many rental apartments come with an electricity generator so that when the power goes out it isn’t an issue for people for working from home.

Water

Water is the utility most covered by rent no matter where you live on island. It is relatively cheap but we do have a dry season where water can get very scarce.

During these times the water usage is restricted by the government and shut off after 9pm at night until 6am in the mornings which is ok for the most part, unless like me you want to work out before work and there’s no water to shower afterwards #stinkysteph.

Some of the more expensive rental apartments will have a water tank to us during these times of drought but the water pressure can vary depending on the location of the tank.

Internet

There are 2 main internet companies on the island and Flow and The Cable, both of which are semi-reliable. If you are a digital nomad or you work from home we recommend using both so you can easily switch between them if one drops out.

The cost for a basic flow package is $99XCD/month which provides 25mbsp download speed, 5mbps upload speed and their optimum package per month is 200mbps download speed and 25mbps upload speed for $299XCD/month.

The cost of the Cable basic package is $97XCD/month which provides 15mbps download speed and 3 mbps upload speed and their Xtreme package is $500/month which includes160mbps download speed and 35 mbps upload speed. It is also worth nothing that The Cable has 3 packages in between these ranging from $139-329/month depending on your needs.

Investing in a travel router is a good idea. These can convert a wired internet connection into a wifi connection and a wifi connection into a wired connection, meaning you can use it as a wifi booster if your connection is poor.

You can also use it with a 4g connection to turn your mobile internet into a wifi or ethernet connection to use with a laptop. This is the one we use, and we have been more than happy with it so far and plan to take it on our round the world travels as is super compact.

Air Travel costs to and from St Kitts

One of the things we were most looking forward to about living in St Kitts was the ability to easily island hop around and visit new places on our weekends and down time. However, Caribbean travel is not as easy or as cheap as you may think.

Yes, the Caribbean have their own tiny ‘puddle jumper’ planes that take you on your death defying 30 minute flights from one tropical paradise to the next, but the tiny planes are expensive for what you get, we’re talking $300USD minimum and that’s usually a one way trip!

From St Kitts and Nevis you can now get these tiny planes to St Martin, Barbados, St Thomas USVI, Puerto Rico, St Lucia and more. The small airlines that fly to these islands are Liat, Cape Air, Winair, Silver Airways, Air Sunshine, and Inter Caribbean Airways.

There are a couple of ferries between islands, the Makana ferry now leaves from St Kitts weekly and goes to Saba, Sint Eustatius and St Martin. Once in St Martin you can also get ferries to other islands.

There are some big name airlines that fly into the island on a daily basis such as Delta and American Airlines and weekly flights with British Airways and Air Canada.

Cost of Entertainment on St Kitts

Nightlife in St Kitts

There are a few different options for nighttime entertainment in St Kitts some are listed below but for full details on the best nightlife in St Kitts you should read our post which we wrote after living in St Kitts for 4 years.

Cinema

St Kitts does have a cinema which has 6 screens and all the modern facilities like 4K and 3D. The price of a cinema ticket for adults is $17XCD which we find way more affordable than the cinema in the UK.

Dining out

Eating out in St Kitts can be very affordable especially at some of the beach bars and restaurants. There are also some fancy more expensive restaurants on St Kitts if you are looking for a special night out. Cheap meals out can be as little as $20XCD for a main course and can go up to $150XCD in an expensive restaurant.

Alcohol

Alcohol on St Kitts can be cheap depending on what you are drinking, local beers are the cheapest option usually around $5XCD a bottle and local rum punch is usually around $10XCD. International spirits and imported beers will cost more. Check out this post on the best alcoholic drinks in St Kitts for all the drinks you need to try!

Things to do

There are lots of things to do on St Kitts many of which are free like visiting one of the many beaches or snorkelling in St Kitts.

There are also some romantic activities for couples looking for a date idea like horseback riding or getting a couples massage.

Lots of residents also use their evenings and weekends to visit Nevis and stay overnight at one of the boutique hotels like The Hermitage which is our favourite prices start around $180USD/night for residents. Nevis also has lots of great restaurants and beautiful beaches. There are a couple of ways to get to Nevis from St Kitts check out our post for more information.

So there you have it our complete guide on the cost of living in St Kitts, no matter where you choose to live on St Kitts or what your budget looks like one thing is for sure you will live in paradise and you will be the envy of friends and family back home.

Are there any other living expenses you think we should include in this post that will help future expats? Let us know in the comments below!

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