Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Beirut and Masterton

For one person, living is cheaper in Masterton: $832 a month against $1,666 in Beirut, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
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Beirut Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Masterton
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Masterton Living Index

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Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,666

/mo nomad

Masterton

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Beirut and in Masterton

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Beirut and in Masterton actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,666 in Beirut versus $832 in Masterton.

Beirut $1,666
Masterton $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,656 in Beirut versus $1,432 in Masterton.

Beirut $2,656
Masterton $1,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,646 in Beirut versus $2,032 in Masterton.

Beirut $3,646
Masterton $2,032

Living in Beirut is roughly 100% more expensive than in Masterton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Beirut is 23% above, Masterton is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.20 LBP 1.1M

$9.54 NZ$16.88

27.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.7 LBP 6.2M

$64.9 NZ$115

7.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.10 LBP 903.6K

$8.56 NZ$15.14

17.99%

Cappuccino

$4.48 LBP 400.8K

$3.18 NZ$5.62

40.88%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 LBP 202.4K

$2.02 NZ$3.57

11.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 LBP 79.8K

$1.09 NZ$1.93

-18.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.03 LBP 450.1K

$3.89 NZ$6.88

29.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 LBP 428.8K

$3.28 NZ$5.79

46.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 LBP 172.1K

$1.42 NZ$2.51

35.21%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 LBP 76.8K

$2.21 NZ$3.91

-61.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 LBP 207.2K

$1.03 NZ$1.82

124.27%

Eggs

$3.63 LBP 324.6K

$6.32 NZ$11.17

-42.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 LBP 1.0M

$8.29 NZ$14.65

34.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.40 LBP 930.8K

$9.48 NZ$16.76

9.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.04 LBP 1.3M

$15.18 NZ$26.85

-0.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 LBP 281.5K

$2.18 NZ$3.85

44.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 LBP 152.9K

$1.71 NZ$3.02

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 LBP 144.6K

$2.98 NZ$5.27

-45.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 LBP 132.2K

$4.58 NZ$8.11

-67.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 LBP 108.6K

$1.53 NZ$2.71

-20.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 LBP 144.1K

$1.08 NZ$1.90

49.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 LBP 103.9K

$1.70 NZ$3.00

-31.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LBP 64.7K

$0.52 NZ$0.92

38.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 LBP 270.2K

$19.51 NZ$34.50

-84.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.14 LBP 997.3K

$11.21 NZ$19.83

-0.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 LBP 118.3K

$0.85 NZ$1.50

55.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 LBP 231.0K

$1.14 NZ$2.02

126.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.28 LBP 204.1K

$2.23 NZ$3.94

2.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.9 LBP 7.0M

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 LBP 439.2K

$1.81 NZ$3.20

171.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 LBP 202.3K

$1.75 NZ$3.09

29.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.59 LBP 2.0M

$34.16 NZ$60.4

-33.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 LBP 96.8K

$1.77 NZ$3.12

-38.98%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$53.2K LBP 4.8B

$22.0K NZ$39.0K

141.16%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.3K LBP 2.9B

$24.8K NZ$43.9K

30.18%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$232 LBP 20.7M

$55.0 NZ$97.3

321.28%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.83 LBP 2.0M

$29.34 NZ$51.9

-25.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.27 LBP 3.4M

$52.8 NZ$93.3

-27.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.5 LBP 7.5M

$41.79 NZ$73.9

99.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.39 LBP 3.1M

$8.51 NZ$15.06

304.11%

Cinema Ticket

$9.91 LBP 887.2K

$9.68 NZ$17.12

2.38%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$683 LBP 61.1M

$1,056 NZ$1,868

-35.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K LBP 969.2M

$12.7K NZ$22.5K

-14.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.3 LBP 6.1M

$55.6 NZ$98.3

22.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.77 LBP 4.5M

$27.59 NZ$48.79

80.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 LBP 12.3M

$102 NZ$181

34.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 LBP 10.7M

$142 NZ$251

-16.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$944 LBP 84.5M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$493 LBP 44.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,191 LBP 196.1M

$1,002 NZ$1,773

118.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 LBP 94.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,042 LBP 361.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,848 LBP 165.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$698 LBP 62.5M

$2,327 NZ$4,115

-70.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

104.08%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Beirut: October 12, 2026

Last update for Masterton: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Beirut

$493 29.6%

Masterton

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Beirut

$292 17.5%

Masterton

$137 16.5% 53% $155

Groceries & Markets

Beirut

$276 16.6%

Masterton

$288 34.7% 4.3% $12

Eating Out

Beirut

$229 13.7%

Masterton

$179 21.5% 22% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Beirut

$169 10.1%

Masterton

$147 17.7% 12.6% $21

Getting Around

Beirut

$103 6.2%

Masterton

$19 * 2.3% 81.2% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Beirut

$103 6.2%

Masterton

$61 7.4% 40.8% $42

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Masterton pays 233% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $70.0 in Beirut vs $65.0 in Masterton. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $288, with Beirut cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Beirut

🇳🇿 Masterton

🕒 Local time

22:59 10:59 PM

08:59 8:59 AM

10 h ahead of Beirut

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,916,100 Capital

26,800

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,630 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

USD to LBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Beirut Masterton 16,440 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Beirut
Masterton

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Beirut vs Masterton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Masterton is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 233% lower in Masterton. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Shoppers in Beirut pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,666 per month in Beirut versus $832 in Masterton – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $832 in Masterton versus $1,666 in Beirut, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Masterton but tight or insufficient in Beirut. The gap between the two cities makes Masterton the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Beirut and Masterton are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Masterton gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Beirut. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.