Cost of living comparison
compared to
Auckland vs. Queenstown Cost of Living Summary
Auckland is 3.6% more expensive than Queenstown.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.2% less in Auckland
- Groceries
-
pay 13.5% less in Auckland
- Transportation
-
pay 5.0% less in Auckland
- Housing
-
pay 17.6% less in Auckland
- Childcare
-
pay 94.5% more in Auckland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.0% less in Auckland
- Clothing
-
pay 19.2% less in Auckland
Expenses including clothing, housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Auckland. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Auckland.
Auckland vs. Queenstown Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Auckland instead of Queenstown, you would:
pay 8.2% less for restaurants
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.31
NZ$29.96
|
$14.42
NZ$24.97
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
$9.23
NZ$15.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
NZ$4.02
|
$2.17
NZ$3.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
NZ$3.84
|
$2.20
NZ$3.80
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.5% less for groceries
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.09
NZ$3.62
|
$2.04
NZ$3.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.64
NZ$8.03
|
$4.18
NZ$7.23
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.97
NZ$13.79
|
$6.83
NZ$11.82
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.28
NZ$10.88
|
$6.46
NZ$11.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.63
NZ$8.02
|
$4.18
NZ$7.23
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.25
NZ$2.17
|
$1.23
NZ$2.13
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
NZ$1.84
|
$0.94
NZ$1.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
NZ$3.03
|
$1.38
NZ$2.40
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.52
NZ$4.36
|
$2.04
NZ$3.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.13
NZ$1.96
|
$0.81
NZ$1.39
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
NZ$1.68
|
$0.65
NZ$1.13
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of groceries
pay 5.0% less for transportation
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.17
NZ$10.68
|
$5.96
NZ$10.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$124.04
NZ$214.71
|
$125.42
NZ$217.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,893.12
NZ$48,283.07
|
$27,115.94
NZ$46,937.77
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.99
NZ$31.14
|
$15.27
NZ$26.42
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of transportation
pay 17.6% less for housing
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.81
NZ$94.87
|
$48.52
NZ$83.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,428.65
NZ$2,473.00
|
$1,258.91
NZ$2,179.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,211.55
NZ$2,097.20
|
$1,096.07
NZ$1,897.29
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$187.50
NZ$324.57
|
$117.26
NZ$202.98
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of housing
pay 94.5% more for childcare
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$471.16
NZ$815.58
|
$878.54
NZ$1,520.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,730.85
NZ$11,651.12
|
$13,628.85
NZ$23,591.58
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of childcare
pay 6.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.92
NZ$11.98
|
$6.92
NZ$11.98
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.29
NZ$5.70
|
$3.39
NZ$5.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$27.69
NZ$47.94
|
$24.23
NZ$41.94
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.04
NZ$93.54
|
$38.35
NZ$66.38
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.12
NZ$20.97
|
$13.85
NZ$23.97
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.2% less for clothing
|
Queenstown
|
Auckland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$83.69
NZ$144.86
|
$67.87
NZ$117.48
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.31
NZ$81.89
|
$46.78
NZ$80.97
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.15
NZ$166.44
|
$95.31
NZ$164.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$268.27
NZ$464.38
|
$118.80
NZ$205.65
|
|
Queenstown vs. Auckland - 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
Change currency:
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Auckland or Queenstown. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.