Cost of Living Comparison Between Timaru and Christchurch Cost of Living Comparison Between Timaru and Christchurch

😐 Solo nomad: Timaru is 13% more expensive than Christchurch without rent, and 11.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Timaru is 5.1% cheaper than Christchurch without rent, and 5.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.17 NZ$25.80

$17.08 NZ$29.03

-11.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.8 NZ$136

$73.4 NZ$125

8.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.85 NZ$16.75

$9.88 NZ$16.80

-0.30%

Cappuccino

$3.39 NZ$5.77

$3.49 NZ$5.93

-2.87%

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

$2.18 NZ$3.71

$2.31 NZ$3.92

-5.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 NZ$3.17

$1.96 NZ$3.33

-4.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.89 NZ$10.02

$7.38 NZ$12.55

-20.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 NZ$9.95

$7.43 NZ$12.64

-21.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 NZ$2.74

$1.84 NZ$3.12

-12.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 NZ$3.33

$1.99 NZ$3.38

-1.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 NZ$2.00

$1.69 NZ$2.87

-30.18%

Eggs

$6.33 NZ$10.76

$6.51 NZ$11.06

-2.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.67 NZ$16.44

$8.03 NZ$13.66

20.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.76 NZ$18.29

$9.65 NZ$16.41

11.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.95 NZ$28.82

$13.11 NZ$22.28

29.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 NZ$4.50

$3.05 NZ$5.18

-13.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 NZ$4.37

$2.59 NZ$4.40

-0.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 NZ$5.05

$2.98 NZ$5.06

-0.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.90 NZ$10.03

$5.66 NZ$9.62

4.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.59 NZ$4.40

$2.13 NZ$3.63

21.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 NZ$4.06

$2.22 NZ$3.78

7.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 NZ$4.83

$2.93 NZ$4.98

-3.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 NZ$1.94

$1.43 NZ$2.43

-20.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$28.48 NZ$48.42

$23.66 NZ$40.23

20.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.27 NZ$12.35

$9.09 NZ$15.45

-20.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.61 NZ$7.84

$3.82 NZ$6.49

20.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.05 NZ$11.98

$4.81 NZ$8.18

46.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.07 NZ$3.52

$1.24 NZ$2.10

66.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.9 NZ$110

$41.57 NZ$70.7

56.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.88 NZ$4.90

$2.73 NZ$4.64

5.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 NZ$1.86

$1.65 NZ$2.81

-33.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.23 NZ$54.8

$30.27 NZ$51.5

6.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 NZ$2.77

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

$29.2K NZ$49.7K

$27.4K NZ$46.6K

6.55%

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

$17.8K NZ$30.2K

$19.6K NZ$33.3K

-9.46%

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

$193 NZ$329

$115 NZ$196

67.34%

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

$23.71 NZ$40.30

$31.15 NZ$53.0

-23.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.3 NZ$99.1

$54.0 NZ$91.8

7.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.92 NZ$62.8

$35.49 NZ$60.3

4.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.24 NZ$20.81

$15.56 NZ$26.45

-21.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.04 NZ$22.17

$11.12 NZ$18.90

17.27%

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

$501 NZ$853

$641 NZ$1,089

-21.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,129 NZ$12.1K

$9,245 NZ$15.7K

-22.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 NZ$146

$62.4 NZ$106

38.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.05 NZ$83.4

$43.14 NZ$73.3

13.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.8 NZ$161

$92.6 NZ$157

2.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$281 NZ$479

$150 NZ$254

88.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 NZ$1,664

$1,539 NZ$2,616

-36.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$783 NZ$1,330

$1,167 NZ$1,984

-32.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,543 NZ$2,622

$2,038 NZ$3,464

-24.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 NZ$2,436

$1,441 NZ$2,450

-0.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,134 NZ$8,728

$5,018 NZ$8,530

2.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,424 NZ$5,821

$2,772 NZ$4,712

23.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,691 NZ$4,574

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.74

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

Last update for Timaru: February 28, 2026

Last update for Christchurch: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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