Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kiribati and New Zealand

Name: New Zealand
Address: NZ

For one person, living is cheaper in Kiribati: $1,713 a month against $2,096 in New Zealand, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Kiribati
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Kiribati Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in New Zealand
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New Zealand Living Index

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🇰🇮 Kiribati

$1,713

/mo nomad

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,096

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kiribati and in New Zealand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Kiribati versus $2,096 in New Zealand.

Kiribati $1,713
New Zealand $2,096

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,652 in Kiribati versus $3,101 in New Zealand.

Kiribati $2,652
New Zealand $3,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,590 in Kiribati versus $4,106 in New Zealand.

Kiribati $3,590
New Zealand $4,106

Internal cost variation is higher in New Zealand: monthly costs span $841 to $2,421, compared to $1,694–$1,694 in Kiribati. City choice carries more weight in New Zealand.

Living in Kiribati costs about 18% less than in New Zealand on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Kiribati 26% above, New Zealand 54% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.14 KID 7.30

$14.33 NZ$25.53

-64.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.31 KID 40.20

$68.4 NZ$122

-58.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 KID 14.77

$9.17 NZ$16.34

13.41%

Cappuccino

$3.25 KID 4.61

$3.32 NZ$5.92

-2.11%

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

$1.03 KID 1.46

$2.21 NZ$3.95

-53.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 KID 1.07

$1.97 NZ$3.51

-61.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.87 KID 5.49

$6.68 NZ$11.90

-42.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 KID 8.90

$6.67 NZ$11.88

-6.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.29 KID 3.25

$1.78 NZ$3.17

28.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 KID 2.95

$1.88 NZ$3.35

10.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 KID 2.05

$1.74 NZ$3.11

-16.67%

Eggs

$6.82 KID 9.69

$6.03 NZ$10.75

13.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.40 KID 24.71

$8.01 NZ$14.27

117.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.79 KID 8.22

$9.55 NZ$17.03

-39.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.46 KID 27.64

$14.49 NZ$25.82

34.30%

Apples (1kg)

$6.87 KID 9.75

$2.73 NZ$4.87

151.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.57 KID 5.07

$2.12 NZ$3.78

68.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.07 KID 8.62

$2.96 NZ$5.28

105.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.61 KID 7.97

$5.02 NZ$8.94

11.75%

Potato (1kg)

$4.71 KID 6.68

$1.98 NZ$3.53

137.88%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 KID 4.38

$1.52 NZ$2.71

103.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.27 KID 4.64

$2.06 NZ$3.67

58.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.33 KID 0.47

$1.11 NZ$1.97

-70.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.18 KID 8.78

$24.38 NZ$43.45

-74.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.14 KID 18.66

$8.82 NZ$15.71

48.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 KID 2.52

$3.17 NZ$5.66

-43.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 KID 4.89

$3.35 NZ$5.96

2.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.72 KID 2.44

$2.02 NZ$3.61

-14.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.1 KID 108

$114 NZ$203

-33.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 KID 3.07

$2.33 NZ$4.16

-7.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 KID 2.59

$1.94 NZ$3.45

-5.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.85 NZ$58.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 KID 2.91

$1.78 NZ$3.17

15.17%

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

$28.4K KID 40.4K

$27.9K NZ$49.7K

1.97%

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

$24.2K KID 34.4K

$23.3K NZ$41.5K

3.89%

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

$317 KID 450

$154 NZ$275

105.22%

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

$32.00 NZ$57.0

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.61 KID 5.13

$50.2 NZ$89.5

-92.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.10 KID 49.85

$33.74 NZ$60.1

4.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.51 KID 34.81

$14.70 NZ$26.20

66.73%

Cinema Ticket

$4.52 KID 6.41

$11.18 NZ$19.93

-59.57%

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

$270 KID 384

$870 NZ$1,550

-68.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,640 KID 8,009

$16.4K NZ$29.2K

-65.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 KID 74.0

$68.9 NZ$123

-24.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 KID 74.0

$36.42 NZ$64.9

43.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.3 KID 120

$93.4 NZ$166

-9.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.2 KID 91.2

$117 NZ$208

-44.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$837 KID 1,189

$1,117 NZ$1,990

-25.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$587 KID 834

$965 NZ$1,721

-39.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,479 KID 2,100

$1,762 NZ$3,140

-16.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,317 KID 1,870

$1,554 NZ$2,770

-15.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,576 KID 6,497

$5,530 NZ$9,855

-17.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,434 KID 4,876

$3,778 NZ$6,734

-9.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$348 KID 495

$2,758 NZ$4,916

-87.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.27

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

Last update for Kiribati: October 26, 2026

Last update for New Zealand: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kiribati

$587 34.3%

New Zealand

$965 46.1% 64.4% $378

Groceries & Markets

Kiribati

$404 23.6%

New Zealand

$317 15.1% 21.5% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kiribati

$320 * 18.7%

New Zealand

$236 11.3% 26.1% $84

Eating Out

Kiribati

$150 8.8%

New Zealand

$245 11.7% 63.3% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Kiribati

$114 6.6%

New Zealand

$142 6.8% 24.8% $28

Getting Around

Kiribati

$94 5.5%

New Zealand

$134 6.4% 42.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Kiribati

$44 2.6%

New Zealand

$56 2.7% 27.1% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

National salary averages: $348 in Kiribati, $2,922 in New Zealand. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 21% higher in New Zealand.

Dining out costs 109% more in New Zealand.

Public transport is 37% more expensive in New Zealand.

Salaries are about 8.4 times higher in New Zealand, and purchasing power comes out stronger in New Zealand.

Good to know

🇰🇮 Kiribati

🇳🇿 New Zealand

🕒 Local time

10:59 10:59 AM

11:59 11:59 AM

1 h ahead of Kiribati

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

119,438

5,118,700

💱 Currency

Kiribati Dollar KID $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 KID = 0.704 USD

1 KID = 0.633 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to KID – Kiribati Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇮 Kiribati Dollar ($)

Kiribati Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 KID (1 KID = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 KID (1 KID = 0.633 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to KID in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kiribati New Zealand 4,750 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kiribati
New Zealand

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

Kiribati vs New Zealand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,713 per month in Kiribati and $2,096 in New Zealand, Kiribati comes out about 18% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $999 in New Zealand and $829 in Kiribati. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: Kiribati wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.