Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

New Zealand

Wellington vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 6.6% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 53.7% more in Wellington
Groceries: pay 37.2% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 80.4% more in Wellington
Housing: pay 25.7% less in Wellington
Childcare: pay 7.8% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.2% less in Wellington
Clothing: pay 2.2% less in Wellington

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

Planning a move to New Zealand? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Wellington vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 53.7% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$13.73 NZ$24.27	+68.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.02 NZ$15.95	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$2.42 NZ$4.28	+109.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$1.71 NZ$3.02	+310.8%
Average			+53.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.2% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$2.16 NZ$3.82	+33.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$4.62 NZ$8.18	-20.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$7.12 NZ$12.59	-3.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$6.89 NZ$12.19	+97.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$4.37 NZ$7.73	-0.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.40 NZ$2.47	+24.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.99 NZ$1.75	+4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.37 NZ$2.42	+62.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$2.93 NZ$5.18	+314.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.95 NZ$1.69	+72.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.57 NZ$1.01	+6.8%
Average			+37.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 80.4% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$7.03 NZ$12.44	+93.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$101.23 NZ$179.01	+281.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	-15.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$16.19 NZ$28.63	+112.4%
Average			+80.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$53.32 NZ$94.29	-39.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,215.08 NZ$2,148.69	-38.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$1,141.32 NZ$2,018.26	-18.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$149.83 NZ$264.95	+1.2%
Average			-25.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.8% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$1,055.30 NZ$1,866.14	+33.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	-13.0%
Average			+7.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$7.28 NZ$12.88	-37.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.34 NZ$5.91	-43.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$25.18 NZ$44.53	+277.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$38.09 NZ$67.36	-60.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$12.04 NZ$21.30	-19.6%
Average			-30.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$77.76 NZ$137.50	+26.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$28.15 NZ$49.78	-42.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$101.77 NZ$179.97	-8.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$152.66 NZ$269.95	+38.6%
Average			-2.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Abu Dhabi vs. Wellington

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Wellington?

More cost comparisons

Abu Dhabi vs.

Paris

Abu Dhabi vs.

Quito

Abu Dhabi vs.

Madrid

Abu Dhabi vs.

London

Abu Dhabi vs.

Athens

Abu Dhabi vs.

Moscow

Abu Dhabi vs.

Warsaw

Abu Dhabi vs.

New York City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Abu Dhabi

Add prices for Wellington

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Wellington or Abu Dhabi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.