Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nelson and Thun

For one person, living is cheaper in Nelson: $1,833 a month against $3,388 in Thun, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index
166

Cost of Living Index in Thun
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Thun Living Index

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Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,833

/mo nomad

Thun

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,388

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nelson and in Thun

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,833 in Nelson versus $3,388 in Thun.

Nelson $1,833
Thun $3,388

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,842 in Nelson versus $5,170 in Thun.

Nelson $2,842
Thun $5,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,852 in Nelson versus $6,952 in Thun.

Nelson $3,852
Thun $6,952

Living in Nelson costs roughly 46% less than in Thun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nelson 36% above, Thun 151% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.86 NZ$24.51

$28.31 CHF 23.32

-51.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.6 NZ$114

$122 CHF 100

-46.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.53 NZ$15.08

$15.51 CHF 12.77

-45.00%

Cappuccino

$3.24 NZ$5.74

$6.45 CHF 5.31

-49.77%

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

$1.72 NZ$3.04

$6.28 CHF 5.17

-72.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 NZ$2.91

$5.88 CHF 4.84

-71.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.13 NZ$12.61

$8.85 CHF 7.29

-19.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 NZ$9.79

$7.67 CHF 6.32

-27.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 NZ$3.36

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-10.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 NZ$3.63

$2.99 CHF 2.46

-31.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.24

$3.13 CHF 2.58

-41.53%

Eggs

$5.70 NZ$10.08

$7.60 CHF 6.26

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 NZ$16.08

$23.82 CHF 19.62

-61.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.34 NZ$12.98

$26.88 CHF 22.14

-72.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.70 NZ$24.22

$39.26 CHF 32.34

-65.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 NZ$5.45

$3.55 CHF 2.92

-13.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 NZ$3.88

$1.96 CHF 1.61

11.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.06 NZ$5.41

$2.65 CHF 2.18

15.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.61 NZ$9.92

$4.73 CHF 3.90

18.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 NZ$3.63

$1.56 CHF 1.28

31.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 NZ$2.27

$2.00 CHF 1.65

-36.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 NZ$3.48

$2.19 CHF 1.80

-10.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 NZ$1.79

$1.28 CHF 1.05

-21.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.79 NZ$43.85

$11.25 CHF 9.26

120.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.44 NZ$16.69

$12.09 CHF 9.96

-21.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.06 NZ$5.41

$2.26 CHF 1.86

35.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 NZ$4.86

$2.92 CHF 2.41

-5.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 NZ$3.92

$4.49 CHF 3.70

-50.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 CHF 82.6

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 NZ$3.21

$8.04 CHF 6.62

-77.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NZ$3.14

$4.53 CHF 3.73

-60.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.41 NZ$59.1

$82.9 CHF 68.3

-59.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.61 NZ$2.85

$2.38 CHF 1.96

-32.35%

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

$17.1K NZ$30.2K

$42.5K CHF 35.0K

-59.83%

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

$21.9K NZ$38.7K

$39.4K CHF 32.5K

-44.45%

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

$131 NZ$231

$289 CHF 238

-54.87%

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

$32.95 NZ$58.3

$46.36 CHF 38.18

-28.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.79 NZ$73.9

$62.8 CHF 51.7

-33.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$99.3 NZ$176

$89.8 CHF 74.0

10.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.61 NZ$59.4

$46.01 CHF 37.89

-26.95%

Cinema Ticket

$11.01 NZ$19.48

$23.22 CHF 19.12

-52.58%

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

$440 NZ$777

$3,058 CHF 2,519

-85.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.7K NZ$22.4K

$30.5K CHF 25.1K

-58.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 NZ$92.6

$144 CHF 119

-63.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.78 NZ$49.13

$78.8 CHF 64.9

-64.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 NZ$179

$159 CHF 131

-36.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 NZ$245

$192 CHF 158

-27.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 NZ$1,769

$1,685 CHF 1,388

-40.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$795 NZ$1,406

$1,432 CHF 1,180

-44.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,704 NZ$3,014

$2,842 CHF 2,341

-40.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,456 NZ$2,574

$2,457 CHF 2,023

-40.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,374 NZ$2,430

$16.2K CHF 13.4K

-91.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$827 NZ$1,462

$11.8K CHF 9,721

-93.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,017 NZ$3,568

$5,785 CHF 4,765

-65.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

2.42

122.73%

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

Last update for Nelson: October 12, 2026

Last update for Thun: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nelson

$795 43.4%

Thun

$1.4K 42.3% 80.2% $638

Groceries & Markets

Nelson

$312 17%

Thun

$556 16.4% 78.1% $244

Eating Out

Nelson

$236 12.9%

Thun

$459 13.5% 94.7% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nelson

$205 11.2%

Thun

$398 11.8% 94.1% $193

Clothing & Footwear

Nelson

$144 7.9%

Thun

$258 7.6% 79.3% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Nelson

$121 6.6%

Thun

$136 4% 12.3% $15

Getting Around

Nelson

$20 * 1.1%

Thun

$149 4.4% 661% $129

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 $1,000 in Nelson and $1,685 in Thun. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thun pays 187% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $65.0 in Nelson vs $122 in Thun for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $556 per month, with Nelson cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Nelson

🇨🇭 Thun

🕒 Local time

17:29 5:29 PM

06:29 6:29 AM

11 h behind Nelson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,100

43,905

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nelson Thun 18,720 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Nelson
Thun

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

Nelson vs Thun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nelson wins on cost – living expenses run 85% lower than in Thun. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nelson the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 187% lower in Thun. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,000 in Nelson versus $1,685 in Thun. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $440 in Nelson versus $3,058 in Thun. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Nelson – a meal for two runs $65.0 versus $122 in Thun. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,833 in Nelson versus $3,388 in Thun, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Nelson but tight or insufficient in Thun. The gap between the two cities makes Nelson 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, Nelson and Thun 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 Nelson gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Thun. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.