Cost of living comparison

 Wellington, New Zealand
compared to
 Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 10.9% cheaper than Wellington.

Restaurants
pay 18.4% more in Helsinki
Groceries
pay 15.0% less in Helsinki
Transportation
pay 7.4% less in Helsinki
Housing
pay 36.1% less in Helsinki
Childcare
pay 39.0% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.9% more in Helsinki
Clothing
pay 12.4% less in Helsinki

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

Helsinki vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

pay 18.4% more for restaurants

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.93
NZ$25.04
$18.76
€16.53
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.96
NZ$15.02
$11.79
€10.39
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.57
NZ$4.32
$3.14
€2.77

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pay 15.0% less for groceries

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Bread
1 loaf
$1.96
NZ$3.29
$2.89
€2.54
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.15
NZ$6.96
$4.13
€3.64
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
NZ$11.71
$5.15
€4.54

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pay 7.4% less for transportation

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.42
NZ$10.76
$7.50
€6.61
Monthly public transit pass $127.57
NZ$213.93
$71.38
€62.90
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,339.84
NZ$57,588.22
$34,296.42
€30,223.38

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pay 36.1% less for housing

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$54.27
NZ$91.01
$22.48
€19.81
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,487.35
NZ$2,494.29
$1,111.66
€979.64
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,335.17
NZ$2,239.10
$870.64
€767.24

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pay 39.0% less for childcare

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $871.44
NZ$1,461.41
$338.03
€297.89
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,649.75
NZ$21,213.75
$10,508.28
€9,260.32

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pay 14.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.17
NZ$12.02
$8.57
€7.56
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.41
NZ$5.72
$4.76
€4.20
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$24.46
NZ$41.01
$11.36
€10.01

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pay 12.4% less for clothing

 
Wellington
Helsinki
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$75.78
NZ$127.08
$100.00
€88.12
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$55.09
NZ$92.39
$31.76
€27.99
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$119.44
NZ$200.31
$89.57
€78.93

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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: June 2025
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See the cost of living in New Zealand vs. Finland. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within New Zealand and Finland.

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