Cost of living comparison

Finland

compared to

New Zealand

Wellington vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 1.8% more expensive than Helsinki.

Restaurants: pay 28.6% less in Wellington
Groceries: pay 13.2% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 17.2% less in Wellington
Housing: pay 20.6% more in Wellington
Childcare: pay 50.1% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.5% less in Wellington
Clothing: pay 14.3% less in Wellington

The cost of childcare, housing, and groceries in Wellington are more expensive than in Helsinki. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing are lower in Wellington.

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Wellington vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Wellington instead of Helsinki, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.6% less for restaurants

	Helsinki	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.92 €15.95	$13.73 NZ$24.27	-23.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.44 €11.96	$9.02 NZ$15.95	-32.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.45 €3.07	$2.42 NZ$4.28	-29.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 €2.30	$1.71 NZ$3.02	-34.0%
Average			-28.6%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% more for groceries

	Helsinki	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$2.76 €2.45	$2.16 NZ$3.82	-21.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.96 €4.41	$4.62 NZ$8.18	-6.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.08 €4.52	$7.12 NZ$12.59	+40.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.93 €3.50	$6.89 NZ$12.19	+75.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.02 €5.36	$4.37 NZ$7.73	-27.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 €1.12	$1.40 NZ$2.47	+11.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 €0.88	$0.99 NZ$1.75	-0.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 €1.00	$1.37 NZ$2.42	+22.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.77 €1.58	$2.93 NZ$5.18	+65.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 €0.49	$0.95 NZ$1.69	+72.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 €0.66	$0.57 NZ$1.01	-23.0%
Average			+13.2%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.2% less for transportation

	Helsinki	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.89 €7.91	$7.03 NZ$12.44	-20.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.74 €72.75	$101.23 NZ$179.01	+23.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,622.07 €32,594.96	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	-31.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.34 €23.44	$16.19 NZ$28.63	-38.5%
Average			-17.2%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.6% more for housing

	Helsinki	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.77 €22.05	$53.32 NZ$94.29	+115.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,207.26 €1,074.51	$1,215.08 NZ$2,148.69	+0.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$904.00 €804.59	$1,141.32 NZ$2,018.26	+26.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$104.89 €93.35	$149.83 NZ$264.95	+42.8%
Average			+20.6%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 50.1% more for childcare

	Helsinki	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$476.51 €424.11	$1,055.30 NZ$1,866.14	+121.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,685.20 €11,290.29	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	+1.7%
Average			+50.1%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Helsinki	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.08 €8.97	$7.28 NZ$12.88	-27.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.23 €4.65	$3.34 NZ$5.91	-36.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.00 €12.46	$25.18 NZ$44.53	+79.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.96 €41.80	$38.09 NZ$67.36	-18.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.48 €16.44	$12.04 NZ$21.30	-34.8%
Average			-22.5%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.3% less for clothing

	Helsinki	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.46 €82.29	$77.76 NZ$137.50	-15.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.55 €38.76	$28.15 NZ$49.78	-35.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.85 €93.32	$101.77 NZ$179.97	-2.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$149.45 €133.01	$152.66 NZ$269.95	+2.1%
Average			-14.3%

Helsinki vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing

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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

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Size Comparison · See true size

Helsinki is about 2.1 times smaller than Wellington.

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