Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 8.0% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 4.1% less in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 5.8% less in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 5.5% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 23.4% less in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 42.6% less in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.3% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 2.9% more in New Zealand

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

New Zealand vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.1% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.96 CA$25.91	$13.47 NZ$24.23	-25.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.78 CA$15.54	$8.81 NZ$15.84	-18.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.17 CA$3.13	$2.16 NZ$3.89	-0.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 CA$2.21	$1.94 NZ$3.50	+27.1%
Average			-4.1%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.8% less for groceries

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$2.65 CA$3.82	$1.86 NZ$3.35	-29.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.28 CA$9.06	$3.77 NZ$6.78	-40.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.92 CA$14.31	$6.55 NZ$11.77	-34.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.31 CA$4.78	$5.92 NZ$10.65	+78.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.89 CA$8.49	$4.25 NZ$7.64	-27.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.93 CA$2.79	$1.15 NZ$2.06	-40.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 CA$0.92	$1.04 NZ$1.87	+63.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 CA$2.08	$1.31 NZ$2.35	-9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 CA$2.43	$2.31 NZ$4.15	+36.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 CA$1.73	$0.90 NZ$1.62	-25.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.31 CA$1.88	$0.83 NZ$1.49	-36.4%
Average			-5.8%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.5% more for transportation

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.15 CA$5.99	$6.26 NZ$11.26	+50.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$92.50 CA$133.42	$69.15 NZ$124.35	-25.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,412.64 CA$35,209.35	$24,735.85 NZ$44,480.95	+1.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.80 CA$27.11	$17.90 NZ$32.19	-4.8%
Average			+5.5%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.4% less for housing

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.21 CA$72.42	$51.16 NZ$91.99	+1.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,425.51 CA$2,055.96	$1,007.66 NZ$1,812.02	-29.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,269.57 CA$1,831.04	$809.64 NZ$1,455.92	-36.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.33 CA$189.42	$91.68 NZ$164.86	-30.2%
Average			-23.4%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.6% less for childcare

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$999.72 CA$1,441.86	$611.89 NZ$1,100.32	-38.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,936.07 CA$28,752.98	$10,661.07 NZ$19,171.14	-46.5%
Average			-42.6%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.75 CA$8.29	$6.10 NZ$10.96	+6.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.71 CA$5.35	$3.30 NZ$5.94	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.93 CA$18.65	$22.88 NZ$41.14	+76.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.27 CA$66.73	$38.53 NZ$69.28	-16.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.78 CA$15.54	$10.92 NZ$19.63	+1.3%
Average			+11.3%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.9% more for clothing

	Ottawa	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.20 CA$82.49	$65.31 NZ$117.44	+14.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.39 CA$64.02	$40.78 NZ$73.34	-8.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.78 CA$141.02	$93.71 NZ$168.51	-4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.86 CA$159.88	$121.74 NZ$218.92	+9.8%
Average			+2.9%

Ottawa vs. New Zealand - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: January 2025

More cost comparisons

Ottawa vs.

Mexico City

Ottawa vs.

London

Ottawa vs.

Algiers

Ottawa vs.

Berlin

Ottawa vs.

Ankara

Ottawa vs.

Wellington

Ottawa vs.

Rome

Ottawa vs.

Manila

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. New Zealand. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and New Zealand.

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

Add prices for Ottawa

Add prices for New Zealand

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Zealand or Ottawa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.