Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 34.2% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 36.3% more in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 96.0% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 32.4% less in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 3.5% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.9% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 0.2% less in New Zealand

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and childcare in New Zealand are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing and clothing are lower in New Zealand. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in New Zealand.

New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$14.45 NZ$25.10	+32.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.14 NZ$15.87	-4.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.29 AED4.74	$2.11 NZ$3.66	+63.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 AED1.61	$2.02 NZ$3.50	+358.4%
Average			+112.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.3% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 AED5.89	$1.74 NZ$3.02	+8.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 AED19.39	$3.88 NZ$6.74	-26.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.50 AED27.54	$6.34 NZ$11.01	-15.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 AED13.37	$5.96 NZ$10.35	+63.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 AED15.11	$4.01 NZ$6.96	-2.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 AED4.21	$1.18 NZ$2.05	+2.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.95 NZ$1.65	+16.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$1.29 NZ$2.25	+56.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.46	$2.11 NZ$3.66	+214.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.85 NZ$1.48	+59.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.39	$0.80 NZ$1.38	+22.3%
Average			+36.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 96.0% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.94 AED10.80	$6.08 NZ$10.56	+106.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.87 AED95.00	$74.52 NZ$129.46	+188.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,639.07 AED163,937.00	$24,777.66 NZ$43,046.67	-44.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$17.81 NZ$30.94	+133.6%
Average			+96.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.4% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.96 AED370.79	$50.00 NZ$86.86	-50.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,490.68 AED5,474.52	$978.36 NZ$1,699.72	-34.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,109.19 AED4,073.48	$810.06 NZ$1,407.33	-27.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.93 AED425.75	$95.66 NZ$166.20	-17.5%
Average			-32.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.43 AED2,296.88	$635.34 NZ$1,103.80	+1.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,786.81 AED46,959.57	$13,463.91 NZ$23,391.09	+5.3%
Average			+3.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.29 AED41.45	$6.04 NZ$10.50	-46.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.77 AED21.18	$3.35 NZ$5.82	-41.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.26 AED23.00	$23.12 NZ$40.17	+269.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.90 AED230.98	$37.72 NZ$65.53	-40.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$10.72 NZ$18.62	-21.3%
Average			+23.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.2% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.62 AED222.62	$65.22 NZ$113.31	+7.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.93 AED190.71	$39.23 NZ$68.16	-24.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$98.09 AED360.23	$90.28 NZ$156.84	-8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.21 AED353.33	$119.43 NZ$207.49	+24.1%
Average			-0.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand - 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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