Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kerikeri and Dunedin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kerikeri: $1,901 a month against $1,987 in Dunedin, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dunedin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

98

Cost of Living Index in Kerikeri
Learn more

Kerikeri Living Index
96

Cost of Living Index in Dunedin
Learn more

Dunedin Living Index

Jump to prices

Kerikeri

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,901

/mo nomad

Dunedin

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,987

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kerikeri and in Dunedin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,901 in Kerikeri versus $1,987 in Dunedin.

Kerikeri $1,901
Dunedin $1,987

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,858 in Kerikeri versus $2,907 in Dunedin.

Kerikeri $2,858
Dunedin $2,907

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,815 in Kerikeri versus $3,828 in Dunedin.

Kerikeri $3,815
Dunedin $3,828

Living in Kerikeri costs roughly 4% less than in Dunedin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kerikeri 40% above, Dunedin 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 NZ$24.84

$14.03 NZ$24.90

-0.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.8 NZ$122

$62.0 NZ$110

11.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 NZ$16.32

$11.40 NZ$20.23

-19.39%

Cappuccino

$3.35 NZ$5.96

$3.27 NZ$5.80

2.45%

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

$2.05 NZ$3.64

$2.07 NZ$3.68

-0.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 NZ$3.16

$2.06 NZ$3.65

-13.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.62 NZ$11.76

$6.73 NZ$11.95

-1.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.72 NZ$11.93

$6.16 NZ$10.94

9.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 NZ$3.42

$2.15 NZ$3.81

-10.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 NZ$3.94

$1.99 NZ$3.54

11.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 NZ$3.35

$1.76 NZ$3.13

7.39%

Eggs

$6.31 NZ$11.21

$5.90 NZ$10.48

6.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 NZ$14.05

$8.52 NZ$15.12

-7.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.18 NZ$18.06

$9.21 NZ$16.36

10.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.40 NZ$30.89

$16.72 NZ$29.68

4.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 NZ$5.09

$3.02 NZ$5.36

-4.97%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 NZ$3.87

$2.29 NZ$4.06

-4.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NZ$5.33

$3.27 NZ$5.80

-8.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.01 NZ$10.67

$5.13 NZ$9.11

17.15%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 NZ$3.68

$1.84 NZ$3.27

12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 NZ$2.71

$1.87 NZ$3.33

-18.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 NZ$3.50

$2.41 NZ$4.28

-18.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 NZ$0.97

$0.60 NZ$1.07

-10.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$27.72 NZ$49.22

$20.90 NZ$37.11

32.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 NZ$18.76

$9.01 NZ$16.00

17.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 NZ$5.13

$3.17 NZ$5.63

-8.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 NZ$6.08

$1.26 NZ$2.23

172.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.74 NZ$3.09

$1.43 NZ$2.54

21.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 NZ$189

$102 NZ$180

4.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 NZ$3.11

$5.76 NZ$10.22

-69.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 NZ$2.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.70 NZ$58.1

$28.63 NZ$50.8

14.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 NZ$2.87

$1.77 NZ$3.14

-8.47%

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

$26.7K NZ$47.5K

$28.2K NZ$50.1K

-5.30%

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

$22.1K NZ$39.3K

$23.5K NZ$41.7K

-5.80%

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

$119 NZ$212

$110 NZ$196

7.96%

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

$27.03 NZ$48.00

$29.44 NZ$52.3

-8.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.7 NZ$90.1

$52.3 NZ$92.8

-2.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.13 NZ$67.7

$45.90 NZ$81.5

-16.93%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 NZ$18.35

$11.20 NZ$19.89

-7.68%

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

$1,059 NZ$1,880

$588 NZ$1,045

80.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K NZ$34.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.4 NZ$141

$58.8 NZ$104

35.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.58 NZ$59.6

$35.28 NZ$62.6

-4.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.7 NZ$170

$91.3 NZ$162

4.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 NZ$198

$135 NZ$240

-17.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$968 NZ$1,719

$1,013 NZ$1,798

-4.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$800 NZ$1,420

$897 NZ$1,593

-10.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 NZ$2,876

$1,632 NZ$2,897

-0.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 NZ$2,286

$1,358 NZ$2,410

-5.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,323 NZ$7,676

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,871 NZ$5,098

$2,273 NZ$4,035

26.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,793 NZ$10.3K

$2,464 NZ$4,374

135.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

7.07

-24.05%

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

Last update for Kerikeri: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dunedin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kerikeri

$800 42.1%

Dunedin

$897 45.2% 12.1% $97

Groceries & Markets

Kerikeri

$337 17.7%

Dunedin

$324 16.3% 3.8% $13

Eating Out

Kerikeri

$242 12.7%

Dunedin

$248 12.5% 2.7% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kerikeri

$197 10.4%

Dunedin

$192 9.7% 2.4% $4.8

Clothing & Footwear

Kerikeri

$144 7.6%

Dunedin

$144 7.3% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Kerikeri

$123 6.5%

Dunedin

$113 * 5.7% 8.2% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Kerikeri

$59 3.1%

Dunedin

$68 3.4% 16.2% $9.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $968 in Kerikeri and $1,013 in Dunedin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kerikeri pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69 in Kerikeri vs $62 in Dunedin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $337 vs $324 per month, with Dunedin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Kerikeri

🇳🇿 Dunedin

🕒 Local time

09:21 9:21 AM

Same time as Kerikeri

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

105,000

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kerikeri Dunedin 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Kerikeri
Dunedin

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

Kerikeri vs Dunedin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,901 in Kerikeri and $1,987 in Dunedin, so Kerikeri is about 4% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kerikeri is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $968 in Kerikeri versus $1,013 in Dunedin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dunedin runs roughly 4% less than in Kerikeri. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,059 in Kerikeri versus $588 in Dunedin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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, Kerikeri and Dunedin are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.