Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

French Polynesia

Papeete vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Papeete is 88.0% more expensive than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 40.6% more in Papeete
Groceries: pay 53.9% more in Papeete
Transportation: pay 5.2 times more in Papeete
Housing: pay 18.6% more in Papeete
Childcare: pay 28.0% less in Papeete
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.9% more in Papeete

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

Papeete vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.6% more for restaurants

	Wellington	Papeete
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.42 NZ$25.34	$19.58 CFPF2,028	+35.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 NZ$16.22	$14.68 CFPF1,521	+59.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 NZ$4.32	$3.13 CFPF324	+27.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.98 NZ$3.47	$2.77 CFPF287	+40.2%
Average			+40.6%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.9% more for groceries

	Wellington	Papeete
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 NZ$3.47	$0.78 CFPF81	-60.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.02 NZ$7.07	$13.05 CFPF1,352	+224.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 NZ$11.93	$6.30 CFPF652	-7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.77 NZ$11.90	$6.48 CFPF671	-4.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.77 NZ$8.38	$7.66 CFPF793	+60.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 NZ$2.39	$2.37 CFPF245	+73.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.78	$1.22 CFPF126	+20.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 NZ$2.34	$2.66 CFPF276	+100.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.32 NZ$4.07	$3.55 CFPF368	+53.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.90 NZ$1.58	$1.37 CFPF141	+52.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.19	$1.22 CFPF126	+80.1%
Average			+53.9%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.2 times more for transportation

	Wellington	Papeete
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.14 NZ$10.79	$5.99 CFPF620	-2.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$109.62 NZ$192.58	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,154.21 NZ$54,733.34	$19,575.51 CFPF2M	-37.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.55 NZ$25.57	$205.54 CFPF21,291	+1312.4%
Average			+424.3%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.6% more for housing

	Wellington	Papeete
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.75 NZ$85.65	$68.84 CFPF7,131	+41.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,240.57 NZ$2,179.50	$1,394.76 CFPF144K	+12.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,099.37 NZ$1,931.43	$978.78 CFPF101K	-11.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.37 NZ$192.14	$144.08 CFPF14,924	+31.7%
Average			+18.6%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of housing

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pay 28.0% less for childcare

	Wellington	Papeete
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$768.47 NZ$1,350.09	$489.39 CFPF50,692	-36.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,211.68 NZ$21,454.12	$9,787.76 CFPF1M	-19.8%
Average			-28.0%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	Papeete
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 NZ$11.66	$3.18 CFPF330	-52.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.54 NZ$6.22	$4.04 CFPF418	+14.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.67 NZ$45.10	$12.14 CFPF1,257	-52.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.12 NZ$59.95	$88.09 CFPF9,125	+158.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.54 NZ$20.27	$14.68 CFPF1,521	+27.2%
Average			+18.9%

Wellington vs. Papeete - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Wellington	Papeete
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.31 NZ$121.76	$71.74 CFPF7,431	+3.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 NZ$81.93	$75.01 CFPF7,769	+60.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.30 NZ$199.06	$81.53 CFPF8,445	-28.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$146.23 NZ$256.90	$92.98 CFPF9,631	-36.4%

Wellington vs. Papeete - 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: April 2026

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