Cost of living comparison

compared to

Australia vs. Christchurch Cost of Living Summary

Australia is 25.7% more expensive than Christchurch.

Restaurants: pay 6.9% more in Australia
Groceries: pay 11.4% more in Australia
Transportation: pay 25.9% more in Australia
Housing: pay 12.1% more in Australia
Childcare: pay 93.0% more in Australia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.6% more in Australia
Clothing: pay 10.8% more in Australia

The cost of childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and clothing in Australia are more expensive than in Christchurch. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Australia.

Australia vs. Christchurch Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Australia instead of Christchurch, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.9% more for restaurants

	Christchurch	Australia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.15 NZ$27.96	$17.15 A$25.82	+6.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.52 NZ$16.48	$9.64 A$14.51	+1.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.27 NZ$3.92	$2.63 A$3.96	+16.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 NZ$3.56	$2.14 A$3.23	+4.2%
Average			+6.9%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.4% more for groceries

	Christchurch	Australia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.76 NZ$3.04	$2.39 A$3.60	+36.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$6.96	$4.21 A$6.34	+4.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 NZ$11.33	$5.84 A$8.80	-10.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.10 NZ$10.56	$4.36 A$6.57	-28.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.26 NZ$7.37	$3.87 A$5.83	-9.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.25 NZ$2.17	$1.48 A$2.23	+18.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 NZ$1.88	$1.27 A$1.91	+17.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 NZ$2.26	$1.32 A$1.98	+0.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.99 NZ$3.44	$1.93 A$2.90	-3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 NZ$1.21	$1.10 A$1.66	+56.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.18	$0.97 A$1.47	+42.9%
Average			+11.4%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.9% more for transportation

	Christchurch	Australia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.06 NZ$10.49	$4.48 A$6.74	-26.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.13 NZ$69.47	$86.18 A$129.74	+114.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,961.84 NZ$44,940.03	$27,666.22 A$41,653.46	+6.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.44 NZ$28.46	$17.83 A$26.85	+8.5%
Average			+25.9%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.1% more for housing

	Christchurch	Australia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.19 NZ$86.88	$54.93 A$82.71	+9.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,413.48 NZ$2,446.73	$1,188.50 A$1,789.37	-15.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$971.55 NZ$1,681.76	$962.42 A$1,448.99	-0.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.85 NZ$148.61	$133.71 A$201.31	+55.8%
Average			+12.1%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of housing

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pay 93.0% more for childcare

	Christchurch	Australia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$612.99 NZ$1,061.08	$1,475.00 A$2,220.71	+140.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,525.11 NZ$16,488.00	$13,848.50 A$20,849.89	+45.4%
Average			+93.0%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Christchurch	Australia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.48	$6.47 A$9.74	-2.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.36 NZ$5.82	$3.56 A$5.36	+5.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.65 NZ$40.95	$28.78 A$43.33	+21.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.33 NZ$57.70	$51.13 A$76.98	+53.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.96 NZ$18.97	$13.10 A$19.72	+19.5%
Average			+19.6%

Christchurch vs. Australia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% more for clothing

	Christchurch	Australia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.06 NZ$102.24	$69.65 A$104.86	+17.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.79 NZ$65.41	$48.53 A$73.07	+28.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.87 NZ$157.29	$99.22 A$149.38	+9.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$123.08 NZ$213.05	$107.98 A$162.57	-12.3%
Average			+10.8%

Christchurch vs. Australia - 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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