Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Zealand vs. Canada Cost of Living Summary
New Zealand is 8.0% cheaper than Canada overall.
New Zealand vs. Canada Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Zealand instead of Canada, you would:
pay 13.7% less for restaurants
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.02
CA$24.03
|
$13.26
NZ$23.91
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.30
CA$14.54
|
$8.99
NZ$16.20
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.01
CA$2.83
|
$2.04
NZ$3.68
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
CA$2.31
|
$1.83
NZ$3.30
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.7% less for groceries
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.51
CA$3.55
|
$1.73
NZ$3.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.21
CA$7.35
|
$3.78
NZ$6.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.08
CA$11.40
|
$6.47
NZ$11.67
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.50
CA$4.93
|
$5.79
NZ$10.44
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.39
CA$7.60
|
$3.83
NZ$6.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.80
CA$2.54
|
$1.22
NZ$2.19
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
CA$0.89
|
$0.94
NZ$1.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CA$2.33
|
$1.32
NZ$2.38
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
CA$2.50
|
$2.20
NZ$3.96
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
CA$1.62
|
$0.89
NZ$1.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
CA$1.53
|
$0.67
NZ$1.20
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries
pay 17.3% more for transportation
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.47
CA$6.31
|
$6.34
NZ$11.42
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.05
CA$91.83
|
$83.43
NZ$150.36
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,172.47
CA$38,358.01
|
$24,108.51
NZ$43,450.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.38
CA$21.71
|
$17.20
NZ$30.99
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation
pay 19.2% less for housing
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.08
CA$80.57
|
$49.30
NZ$88.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,206.12
CA$1,702.62
|
$976.74
NZ$1,760.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,084.12
CA$1,530.39
|
$843.74
NZ$1,520.66
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.92
CA$155.17
|
$95.64
NZ$172.37
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing
pay 10.4% more for childcare
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$708.00
CA$999.45
|
$716.92
NZ$1,292.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,065.57
CA$19,855.66
|
$16,937.81
NZ$30,526.82
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.10
CA$7.20
|
$5.70
NZ$10.26
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.67
CA$5.18
|
$3.26
NZ$5.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.41
CA$18.92
|
$22.75
NZ$40.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.22
CA$59.60
|
$39.17
NZ$70.59
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.12
CA$15.69
|
$10.27
NZ$18.51
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.9% more for clothing
|
Canada
|
New Zealand
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.28
CA$75.21
|
$63.30
NZ$114.09
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.15
CA$56.67
|
$33.63
NZ$60.60
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.30
CA$121.83
|
$91.48
NZ$164.87
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.70
CA$140.74
|
$114.46
NZ$206.29
|
|
Canada vs. New Zealand - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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