Cost of living in New Zealand

Compare the cost of your home country to the actual living costs in New Zealand, simply select your home currency and see the difference!

All data is kept up to date by local members and actual students. Our latest update was on: 1st of January 2019

Please help us improve this list by submitting your Feedback on your right!

Food			Price in NZD
12 eggs dozen, large			12.50 NZ$
1 beer pint in local shops, markets			7 NZ$
1 kg of tomatoes			8.50 NZ$
Full chicken 2kg			38.75 NZ$
1litre 100% fruit juice			8.50 NZ$
1 package of cigarettes imported brands			25 NZ$
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples			7.50 NZ$
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality			48.95 NZ$
2.5 liters of Coca-Cola			0.95 NZ$
1 Bread loaf standard			9.50 NZ$
Whole fat Yogurt. 500ml			12 NZ$
1x6 pack Dardanelle tuna			18.50 NZ$
Heinz baked beans 1 tin			8 NZ$
1.5 kg Sugar			10 NZ$
2 liter cooking oil			20 NZ$
Yum-yum noodles per pack			2.00 NZ$
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes			5.50 NZ$
1 liter milk			8.50 NZ$
Fast food restaurant large serving/ take away			25 NZ$
Housing
Utilities per month (water, electricity, gas) for 2 people in flat			165 NZ$
Wi-Fi monthly fee 8 Mbps (1 month)			145 NZ$
Laundry detergent (bleach, sunlight liquid, washing surf… altogether)			58.50 NZ$
House Cleaning fee per day			105 NZ$
Large Gas heater price range upwards.			200 NZ$
Original branded Electric Fans			200 NZ$
Original branded Electric kettle.			120 NZ$
40 inches Beko flat screen HD TV set			2000 NZ$
Single bed Blankets			120 NZ$
Personal Care
Avon for women and men cologne			100 NZ$
Ladies hair plaiting.			60 NZ$
Ladies Sanitaryware (Pads and Tampoons)			18 NZ$
Men's haircut			40 NZ$
Ibuprofen, Panadol, Grandpa Pain killers box of 12 dosses			24.50 NZ$
Mobile package local network providers’ talk-time, data and messages			65 NZ$
1 month of gym subscription.			105 NZ$
Earphones original (Samsung. iPhone)			90 NZ$
Unisex Loris perfume			30 NZ$
Gadgets maintenance and repairs (cellphone, laptops, tablets...) starting price.			100 NZ$
Smart phones (Samsung, Xiaomi, HTC, IPhone) price range upwards			1000 NZ$
Laptops (Samsung, Lenovo, Hp, Monster, Dell etc.) price range upwards			3000 NZ$
Entertainment
Boat cruise with refreshments and finger snacks			120 NZ$
Go carting 30mins			120 NZ$
Movie House 3d cinema			30 NZ$
Summer Festivals (jet, bumper cars, lucky deep ...(per ticket)			15 NZ$
Photo shoot			120 NZ$
Cappuccino / expresso/ coffee			12.50 NZ$
3 course dinner local restaurant two people			96.50 NZ$
3 course dinner classy, exotic restaurant two people			150 NZ$
Play station 4 console without games.			2000 NZ$
Spalding Basketball			200 NZ$
Original branded Racket and Wilson’s tennis balls			500 NZ$
Transportation
Taxi fare on average 5-10km			45 NZ$
Public transport per trip one way maximum fare			30 NZ$
1 liter petrol/diesel			6.50 NZ$
1 day rent a car cost			140 NZ$
Driver’s license			2300 NZ$
Clothes
1 pair of jeans (Denim or similar)			150 NZ$
1 pair of men’s formal shoes			215 NZ$
1 pair original sport/casual shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands)			280 NZ$
1 classy summer dress (Zara, H&M or similar retailers)			135.79 NZ$
Ladies formal shoes original and durable			120 NZ$
Back-pack, gym bag (Nike, Adidas, New balance)			150 NZ$

Cost of living in New Zealand is quite favorable not only for the citizens but also so foreigners, although certain factors must be considered, for example, living in the big city like Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington cost more than living in the smaller areas or the countryside like Hamilton and Dunedin. Also, recently accommodation has somewhat been on the rise in the country due to their open-door migrant policy.

Some key areas to discuss when it comes to the cost of living include;

Accommodation:

• Student housing includes on-campus and off-campus housing. Living within the school premises comes with its own perks as students do not pay for utilities or any further costs in the course of their stay. Schools have dormitories and residencies that they allocate to their students. These residencies can house up to 3 or 4 individuals in a dormitory or 1 or 2 in the residencies. They are very comfortable with many facilities that make student life very easy.
• Accommodation in the city are usually apartment flats or studios, the two options would be renting alone or sharing with roommates. Rent in New Zealand is usually calculated per week, so the average costs for rent in the city would be 160 – 350 NZD. The reason for this gap in rental prices is owing to factors like bills and utilities, the location, or whether or not the flat is shared.

Feeding

• Monthly grocery shopping for food and personal items in New Zealand can range from 450 – 500 NZD for people who rely solely on home-cooked meals. Dining out in an affordable restaurant could set you back 35 NZD (for two people), which is considerably cheap under a student budget. Mid-range restaurants can cost 40-60 NZD (per two people) and anything higher would be very fancy. Coffee lovers would be very excited as coffee is very cheap and tastes really good, a typical coffee shop would collect 3.50 – 6 NZD depending on the cup that you desire.

Transportation

• Public transportation in the city is very fairly priced, there is something called the hopp card that you can use to take the local bus which costs about 1.90 NZD – 3.40 NZD per trip depending on the line that you’re in.

Cell Phone Plans

• Cell phone plans are very regulated and effective more so for students. There are service providers like Vodafone that have really less expensive data for good quality service. You can adjust your plan to suit your wants for example if you prefer more call time to more data and vice versa. 26 NZD is the average price for a normal phone plan in New Zealand.