Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nelson and Vienna

For one person, living is cheaper in Nelson: $1,865 a month against $2,307 in Vienna, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

90

Cost of Living Index in Nelson
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Nelson Living Index
112

Cost of Living Index in Vienna
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Vienna Living Index

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Nelson

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$1,865

/mo nomad

Vienna

🇦🇹 Austria

$2,307

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nelson and in Vienna

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 Vienna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,865 in Nelson versus $2,307 in Vienna.

Nelson $1,865
Vienna $2,307

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,872 in Nelson versus $3,489 in Vienna.

Nelson $2,872
Vienna $3,489

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,879 in Nelson versus $4,671 in Vienna.

Nelson $3,879
Vienna $4,671

Living in Nelson costs roughly 19% less than in Vienna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nelson 37% above, Vienna 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.72 NZ$24.38

$19.35 €17.34

-29.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.8 NZ$115

$88.6 €79.4

-26.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.27 NZ$14.70

$13.48 €12.08

-38.65%

Cappuccino

$3.19 NZ$5.66

$5.32 €4.77

-40.04%

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

$1.82 NZ$3.23

$3.73 €3.34

-51.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 NZ$2.93

$3.16 €2.84

-47.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.61 NZ$13.51

$6.02 €5.39

26.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 NZ$10.37

$5.62 €5.04

3.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.93 NZ$3.43

$1.63 €1.46

18.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 NZ$3.89

$2.18 €1.95

0.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 NZ$3.48

$2.58 €2.31

-24.03%

Eggs

$5.85 NZ$10.39

$4.57 €4.09

28.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 NZ$16.21

$13.69 €12.27

-33.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.62 NZ$13.54

$14.16 €12.69

-46.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.65 NZ$24.24

$22.63 €20.28

-39.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 NZ$5.60

$2.97 €2.66

6.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.81

$2.21 €1.98

-2.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NZ$5.33

$3.59 €3.22

-16.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.63 NZ$10.00

$4.22 €3.78

33.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 NZ$3.68

$1.99 €1.78

4.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.19

$1.87 €1.67

-34.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.02 NZ$3.60

$1.87 €1.68

8.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 NZ$1.92

$0.90 €0.81

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.87 NZ$45.96

$7.43 €6.66

248.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.94 NZ$17.65

$8.43 €7.56

17.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 NZ$5.58

$1.53 €1.38

105.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NZ$5.00

$1.85 €1.66

51.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 NZ$3.92

$3.50 €3.13

-37.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.9 €51.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$5.47 €4.90

-66.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 NZ$3.18

$2.15 €1.93

-16.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.80 NZ$60.1

$45.49 €40.76

-25.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 NZ$2.77

$1.97 €1.77

-20.81%

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

$17.1K NZ$30.3K

$30.1K €27.0K

-43.39%

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

$22.4K NZ$39.7K

$32.1K €28.8K

-30.47%

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

$130 NZ$231

$321 €288

-59.49%

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

$32.93 NZ$58.5

$14.48 €12.98

127.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.70 NZ$77.6

$31.90 €28.59

36.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 NZ$179

$37.15 €33.29

170.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.48 NZ$61.3

$28.06 €25.14

22.88%

Cinema Ticket

$11.14 NZ$19.79

$13.84 €12.40

-19.51%

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

$458 NZ$814

$397 €355

15.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K NZ$23.3K

$28.3K €25.4K

-53.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 NZ$94.0

$88.3 €79.1

-40.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.57 NZ$50.8

$38.74 €34.72

-26.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 NZ$185

$93.1 €83.4

11.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 NZ$253

$132 €118

7.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 NZ$1,818

$1,359 €1,218

-24.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 NZ$1,444

$935 €838

-13.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,755 NZ$3,118

$2,552 €2,286

-31.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 NZ$2,584

$1,628 €1,459

-10.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,396 NZ$2,481

$13.8K €12.4K

-89.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$852 NZ$1,513

$5,925 €5,310

-85.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,043 NZ$3,630

$3,478 €3,116

-41.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

3.41

58.06%

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

Last update for Nelson: October 24, 2026

Last update for Vienna: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nelson

$813 43.6%

Vienna

$935 40.5% 15.1% $122

Groceries & Markets

Nelson

$319 17.1%

Vienna

$366 15.9% 14.9% $48

Eating Out

Nelson

$236 12.7%

Vienna

$328 14.2% 38.7% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nelson

$207 11.1%

Vienna

$368 15.9% 77.8% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Nelson

$148 7.9%

Vienna

$159 6.9% 7.4% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Nelson

$123 6.6%

Vienna

$65 2.8% 47.2% $58

Getting Around

Nelson

$20 * 1.1%

Vienna

$87 3.8% 345% $68

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 $1,023 in Nelson and $1,359 in Vienna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vienna pays 70% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Nelson vs $89 in Vienna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $319 vs $366 per month, with Nelson cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Nelson

🇦🇹 Vienna

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

07:13 7:13 AM

12 h behind Nelson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

51,100

1,920,949 Capital

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.506 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.506 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nelson Vienna 18,040 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Nelson
Vienna

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 Vienna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nelson wins on cost – living expenses run 19% lower than in Vienna. 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 41% lower in Nelson. 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: $1,023 in Nelson versus $1,359 in Vienna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $458 in Nelson versus $397 in Vienna. 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 versus $89 in Vienna. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

It comes down to priorities – Nelson wins on affordability, Vienna on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.