Cost of living comparison

Vanuatu

compared to

New Zealand

New Zealand vs. Vanuatu Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 28.3% cheaper than Vanuatu overall.

Restaurants: pay 16.4% less in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 44.7% less in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 10.8% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 47.9% less in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 68.1% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.0% less in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 1.5% less in New Zealand

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

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New Zealand vs. Vanuatu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Vanuatu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.4% less for restaurants

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.67 VUV1,500	$13.26 NZ$23.46	+4.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.35 VUV1,700	$8.99 NZ$15.90	-37.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 VUV270	$2.04 NZ$3.61	-10.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 VUV279	$1.83 NZ$3.24	-22.3%
Average			-16.4%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.7% less for groceries

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$1.94 VUV230	$1.73 NZ$3.05	-11.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.86 VUV1,050	$3.78 NZ$6.69	-57.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 VUV1,259	$6.47 NZ$11.45	-39.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.23 VUV737	$5.79 NZ$10.24	-7.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.40 VUV877	$3.83 NZ$6.77	-48.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 VUV384	$1.22 NZ$2.15	-62.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 VUV113	$0.94 NZ$1.67	-1.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 VUV211	$1.32 NZ$2.33	-26.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.21 VUV499	$2.20 NZ$3.89	-47.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$4.02 VUV476	$0.89 NZ$1.57	-77.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.57 VUV186	$0.67 NZ$1.18	-57.6%
Average			-44.7%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.8% more for transportation

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.78 VUV803	$6.34 NZ$11.21	-6.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.55 VUV8,000	$83.43 NZ$147.53	+23.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,220.47 VUV3M	$24,108.51 NZ$42,632.21	+3.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.29 VUV1,100	$17.20 NZ$30.41	+85.1%
Average			+10.8%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.9% less for housing

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$363.08 VUV43,000	$49.30 NZ$87.18	-86.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,579.90 VUV187K	$976.74 NZ$1,727.21	-38.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,131.05 VUV134K	$843.74 NZ$1,492.02	-25.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$484.28 VUV57,353	$95.64 NZ$169.12	-80.3%
Average			-47.9%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 68.1% more for childcare

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$624.84 VUV74,000	$716.92 NZ$1,267.75	+14.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,873.26 VUV814K	$16,937.81 NZ$29,951.92	+146.4%
Average			+68.1%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.07 VUV600	$5.70 NZ$10.07	+12.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.08 VUV483	$3.26 NZ$5.77	-20.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.29 VUV1,100	$22.75 NZ$40.22	+144.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.29 VUV8,088	$39.17 NZ$69.26	-42.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$10.27 NZ$18.16
Average			-9.0%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.5% less for clothing

	Vanuatu	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.99 VUV4,854	$63.30 NZ$111.94	+54.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$67.55 VUV8,000	$33.63 NZ$59.46	-50.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.40 VUV9,995	$91.48 NZ$161.76	+8.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$101.28 VUV11,995	$114.46 NZ$202.41	+13.0%
Average			-1.5%

Vanuatu vs. New Zealand - 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

Compare further: Vanuatu vs. New Zealand

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in New Zealand?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 12.3 times more money in New Zealand

Size Comparison · See true size

Vanuatu is about 22 times smaller than New Zealand.

Moving from Vanuatu to New Zealand · OECD 2023

90 people moved from Vanuatu to New Zealand.

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