Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cologne and Wellington

For one person, living costs are similar in Cologne and in Wellington: $2,233 and $2,313 a month, rent and utilities included.

107

Cost of Living Index in Cologne
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Cologne Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index

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Cologne

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,233

/mo nomad

Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cologne and in Wellington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,233 in Cologne versus $2,313 in Wellington.

Cologne $2,233
Wellington $2,313

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,388 in Cologne versus $3,422 in Wellington.

Cologne $3,388
Wellington $3,422

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,543 in Cologne versus $4,530 in Wellington.

Cologne $4,543
Wellington $4,530

Living in Cologne costs roughly 3% less than in Wellington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cologne 64% above, Wellington 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.02 €15.29

$14.02 NZ$24.68

21.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.7 €75.2

$66.5 NZ$117

25.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.82 €10.62

$9.23 NZ$16.24

28.06%

Cappuccino

$4.02 €3.61

$3.41 NZ$6.00

17.89%

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

$3.74 €3.36

$2.43 NZ$4.28

53.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 €2.80

$1.69 NZ$2.98

84.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 €4.90

$7.48 NZ$13.17

-27.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.91

$6.74 NZ$11.87

-18.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.95 NZ$3.44

-34.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 €2.30

$2.25 NZ$3.97

13.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 €2.78

$1.85 NZ$3.26

67.03%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.33

$7.10 NZ$12.50

-47.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.64 €11.36

$9.54 NZ$16.79

32.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.08 €10.85

$9.62 NZ$16.93

25.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.79 €20.48

$15.26 NZ$26.86

49.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.04 €2.73

$3.09 NZ$5.45

-1.62%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.82

$2.15 NZ$3.79

-5.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$3.08 NZ$5.42

-15.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 €3.39

$6.42 NZ$11.30

-41.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 €1.27

$2.10 NZ$3.69

-32.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.23 NZ$2.17

-6.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.36

$2.01 NZ$3.54

-24.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.16 NZ$2.04

-5.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.84 €8.84

$25.37 NZ$44.65

-61.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.54 €5.88

$11.48 NZ$20.21

-43.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 €1.13

$3.12 NZ$5.49

-59.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.52

$2.89 NZ$5.08

-41.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 €3.51

$2.86 NZ$5.04

36.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.5 €64.2

$105 NZ$185

-31.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 €4.82

$1.88 NZ$3.31

185.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 €2.46

$1.83 NZ$3.22

49.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.45 €30.06

$34.31 NZ$60.4

-2.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 €2.00

$1.84 NZ$3.24

20.65%

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

$33.1K €29.8K

$28.4K NZ$50.0K

16.72%

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

$38.0K €34.1K

$23.8K NZ$41.9K

59.69%

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

$301 €271

$201 NZ$353

49.93%

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

$12.17 €10.93

$33.35 NZ$58.7

-63.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.02 €32.36

$53.7 NZ$94.4

-32.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.99 €37.73

$35.87 NZ$63.1

17.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.28 €31.70

$16.18 NZ$28.48

118.05%

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 €14.29

$11.78 NZ$20.74

34.97%

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

$1,103 €991

$1,065 NZ$1,874

3.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K €19.7K

$13.3K NZ$23.4K

65.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.4 €78.6

$80.4 NZ$142

8.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.11 €36.93

$28.04 NZ$49.35

46.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €91.1

$102 NZ$179

-0.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €120

$154 NZ$271

-13.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,223 €1,099

$1,143 NZ$2,011

7.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$917 €824

$1,078 NZ$1,898

-14.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,340 €2,103

$2,057 NZ$3,620

13.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,628 €1,463

$1,814 NZ$3,192

-10.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,324 €6,581

$6,594 NZ$11.6K

11.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,056 €4,543

$3,655 NZ$6,432

38.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,562 €3,201

$2,785 NZ$4,902

27.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

5.39

-28.94%

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

Last update for Cologne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Wellington: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cologne

$917 41.1%

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6% 17.6% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cologne

$349 15.6%

Wellington

$288 12.4% 17.6% $61

Groceries & Markets

Cologne

$337 15.1%

Wellington

$348 15.1% 3.2% $11

Eating Out

Cologne

$285 12.8%

Wellington

$248 10.7% 13.1% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Cologne

$164 7.3%

Wellington

$164 7.1% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Cologne

$106 4.8%

Wellington

$127 5.5% 20% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cologne

$74 3.3%

Wellington

$59 2.6% 19.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,223 in Cologne and $1,143 in Wellington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cologne pays 28% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $84 in Cologne vs $66 in Wellington. Groceries flip the comparison at $337 vs $348, with Cologne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Cologne

🇳🇿 Wellington

🕒 Local time

11:05 11:05 AM

23:05 11:05 PM

12 h ahead of Cologne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,095,520

215,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 NZD = 0.568 USD

1 NZD = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 NZD (1 NZD = 0.568 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 NZD (1 NZD = 0.511 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cologne Wellington 18,590 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Cologne
Wellington

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

Cologne vs Wellington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cologne and Wellington differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,233 vs $2,313 including rent). Cologne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 28% higher in Cologne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,223 in Cologne versus $1,143 in Wellington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cologne runs roughly 32% less than in Wellington. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,103 in Cologne versus $1,065 in Wellington. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Cologne gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Cologne and Wellington are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.