Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 2.3% more expensive than New Zealand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.3% less in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 15.1% less in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 23.5% less in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 53.1% more in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3% less in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.9% more in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 3.6% more in Abu Dhabi
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in New Zealand. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, groceries, and childcare are lower in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of New Zealand, you would:
pay 34.3% less for restaurants
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.45
NZ$25.10
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.14
NZ$15.87
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.11
NZ$3.66
|
$1.29
AED4.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
NZ$3.50
|
$0.44
AED1.61
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.1% less for groceries
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.74
NZ$3.02
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
NZ$6.74
|
$5.28
AED19.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.34
NZ$11.01
|
$7.50
AED27.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.96
NZ$10.35
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.01
NZ$6.96
|
$4.12
AED15.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
NZ$2.05
|
$1.15
AED4.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.95
NZ$1.65
|
$0.82
AED3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.29
NZ$2.25
|
$0.83
AED3.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.11
NZ$3.66
|
$0.67
AED2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.85
NZ$1.48
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
NZ$1.38
|
$0.65
AED2.39
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 23.5% less for transportation
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.08
NZ$10.56
|
$2.94
AED10.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$74.52
NZ$129.46
|
$25.87
AED95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,777.66
NZ$43,046.67
|
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.81
NZ$30.94
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 53.1% more for housing
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$50.00
NZ$86.86
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$978.36
NZ$1,699.72
|
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$810.06
NZ$1,407.33
|
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$95.66
NZ$166.20
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 3.3% less for childcare
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$635.34
NZ$1,103.80
|
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,463.91
NZ$23,391.09
|
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 35.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.04
NZ$10.50
|
$11.29
AED41.45
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.35
NZ$5.82
|
$5.77
AED21.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$23.12
NZ$40.17
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.72
NZ$65.53
|
$62.90
AED230.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.72
NZ$18.62
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.6% more for clothing
|
New Zealand
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$65.22
NZ$113.31
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.23
NZ$68.16
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.28
NZ$156.84
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.43
NZ$207.49
|
$96.21
AED353.33
|
|
New Zealand vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of clothing
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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