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Maui Prices & Cost of Living 2026
United States · Resort — Maui is about 10% cheaper than New York. Not just exchange rates: what a fair price is, where it turns into a rip-off, and what that means in your money.
Maui prices at a glance
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Maui travel difficulty
Hotels add resort and parking fees — compare total prices
English everywhere; Hawaiian place names, but all info is in English
Uber/Lyft cover the airport, West and South Maui; Hana needs a car
Cards and tap everywhere; prices exclude tax and tips are expected
Low crime; car break-ins at Hana Highway pullouts and trailheads
Good to knowHaleakalā sunrise needs a recreation.gov booking — released 60 days and 2 days ahead
Handy apps: Uber · Lyft
Visas depend on your passport, so they are not scored. Felt different on the ground? Tell other travelers below. Travel difficulty in the Americas › Difficulty ranking for 502 cities ›
In your money
Maui is about 10% cheaper than New York
Based on 8 things travelers buy most, compared with New York. Each pair of bars is the same purchase in both cities, converted to your currency. Set your own city and currency in “My basis” above.
Maui in numbers
- 🍜5.5 local meals
- ☕18 coffees
- 🍺12 beers
- 🚕5 5-km taxi rides
- 💆0.7 h of massage
- 🏨0.4 hotel nights
- Local meal44 min · New York 52 min
- Coffee14 min · New York 15 min
- Beer20 min · New York 23 min
- Taxi49 min · New York 59 min
- Transit#141 priciest
- Local meal#90 priciest
- SIM card#65 priciest
Maui price guide & rip-off thresholds
Maui travel budget
Per person per day, estimated. Flights and shopping not included.
See 4-day, 1-week and 1-month budget tables › · Plan a multi-city trip budget ›
How to spend money in Maui
Cards work everywhere.
18–20% of the pre-tax bill is effectively standard at restaurants; $1–2 a drink at bars, ~15% for taxis and Uber.
Listed prices exclude sales tax; tax (varies by state and city) and tip are added at checkout.
Outside big cities you need a car; Uber and Lyft fill the gap.
No haggling.
Tap water is safe to drink.
Hotel "resort fees", and tipping twice when a gratuity is already on the bill.
Live prices reported in Maui
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FAQ
Is Maui cheaper than New York?
Across 8 things travelers buy most (meals, coffee, beer, taxis, hotels…), Maui is about 10% cheaper than New York. A local meal is about $18 and a coffee about $5.5.
How hard is Maui to travel?
Averaging rip-offs, language, getting around, payments and safety, Maui scores 1.8/5 — 'easy'. The main thing to watch is getting around (3/5): Uber/Lyft cover the airport, West and South Maui; Hana needs a car. Tip: Haleakalā sunrise needs a recreation.gov booking — released 60 days and 2 days ahead
Is Maui good for first-time travelers?
Yes — it is one of the easier places to travel (1.8/5). Haleakalā sunrise needs a recreation.gov booking — released 60 days and 2 days ahead
What is a realistic daily budget for Maui?
Mid-range (3-star hotel, local meals plus a dinner out, two taxi rides) is about $420 a day. Guesthouses and street food bring it to about $156; 4-star and restaurants push it to about $911.
How much does it cost to live in Maui for a month?
A short-term studio (about $5,892) plus food, transport and a SIM (about $2,466) comes to roughly $8,357 a month. A local long-term lease (studio about $2,200) brings it down a lot.
How much should a taxi cost in Maui?
For 5 km in town, expect $16 – $32; anything above $38.4 is suspicious. Outside big cities you need a car; Uber and Lyft fill the gap.
Do you tip in Maui?
18–20% of the pre-tax bill is effectively standard at restaurants; $1–2 a drink at bars, ~15% for taxis and Uber. Listed prices exclude sales tax; tax (varies by state and city) and tip are added at checkout.
Can you use cards in Maui?
Cards work everywhere.
Where do these numbers come from?
Base prices start from public cost-of-living data; once 3+ traveler reports come in, the app blends in the median of what people actually paid.
Fair range & rip-off line — each item gets its own spread (tight for transit, wide for street food). Above 1.2× the top of the fair range is flagged as a likely rip-off.
Budgets add up item prices for the lifestyle described above. Peak season and prime tourist spots run higher.
Exchange rate as of October 2026: 1 USD = $1. Last updated 2026-10-05.