Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Cologne

For one person, living costs are similar in Wellington and in Cologne: $2,313 and $2,233 a month, rent and utilities included.

110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Cologne
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Cologne Living Index

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Cologne

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wellington and in Cologne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,313 in Wellington versus $2,233 in Cologne.

Wellington $2,313
Cologne $2,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,422 in Wellington versus $3,388 in Cologne.

Wellington $3,422
Cologne $3,388

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,530 in Wellington versus $4,543 in Cologne.

Wellington $4,530
Cologne $4,543

Living in Wellington is roughly 4% more expensive than in Cologne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Wellington 70% above, Cologne 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.02 NZ$24.68

$17.02 €15.29

-17.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 NZ$117

$83.7 €75.2

-20.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 NZ$16.24

$11.82 €10.62

-21.91%

Cappuccino

$3.41 NZ$6.00

$4.02 €3.61

-15.17%

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

$2.43 NZ$4.28

$3.74 €3.36

-35.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 NZ$2.98

$3.12 €2.80

-45.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 NZ$13.17

$5.45 €4.90

37.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 NZ$11.87

$5.46 €4.91

23.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 NZ$3.44

$1.27 €1.14

53.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.25 NZ$3.97

$2.56 €2.30

-12.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 NZ$3.26

$3.09 €2.78

-40.13%

Eggs

$7.10 NZ$12.50

$3.71 €3.33

91.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.54 NZ$16.79

$12.64 €11.36

-24.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 NZ$16.93

$12.08 €10.85

-20.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.26 NZ$26.86

$22.79 €20.48

-33.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 NZ$5.45

$3.04 €2.73

1.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 NZ$3.79

$2.03 €1.82

5.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NZ$5.42

$2.59 €2.32

18.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.42 NZ$11.30

$3.77 €3.39

70.29%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 NZ$3.69

$1.42 €1.27

47.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 NZ$2.17

$1.15 €1.03

6.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 NZ$3.54

$1.51 €1.36

33.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 NZ$2.04

$1.10 €0.99

5.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.37 NZ$44.65

$9.84 €8.84

157.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.48 NZ$20.21

$6.54 €5.88

75.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 NZ$5.49

$1.26 €1.13

147.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 NZ$5.08

$1.69 €1.52

71.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.86 NZ$5.04

$3.90 €3.51

-26.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$105 NZ$185

$71.5 €64.2

46.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 NZ$3.31

$5.36 €4.82

-64.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.83 NZ$3.22

$2.74 €2.46

-33.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.31 NZ$60.4

$33.45 €30.06

2.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.84 NZ$3.24

$2.22 €2.00

-17.12%

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

$28.4K NZ$50.0K

$33.1K €29.8K

-14.32%

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

$23.8K NZ$41.9K

$38.0K €34.1K

-37.38%

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

$201 NZ$353

$301 €271

-33.30%

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

$33.35 NZ$58.7

$12.17 €10.93

174.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.7 NZ$94.4

$36.02 €32.36

48.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.87 NZ$63.1

$41.99 €37.73

-14.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.18 NZ$28.48

$35.28 €31.70

-54.14%

Cinema Ticket

$11.78 NZ$20.74

$15.90 €14.29

-25.91%

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

$1,065 NZ$1,874

$1,103 €991

-3.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K NZ$23.4K

$22.0K €19.7K

-39.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.4 NZ$142

$87.4 €78.6

-8.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.04 NZ$49.35

$41.11 €36.93

-31.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 NZ$179

$101 €91.1

0.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NZ$271

$134 €120

15.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,143 NZ$2,011

$1,223 €1,099

-6.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 NZ$1,898

$917 €824

17.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,057 NZ$3,620

$2,340 €2,103

-12.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,814 NZ$3,192

$1,628 €1,463

11.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,594 NZ$11.6K

$7,324 €6,581

-9.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,655 NZ$6,432

$5,056 €4,543

-27.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,785 NZ$4,902

$3,562 €3,201

-21.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

3.83

40.73%

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

Last update for Wellington: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cologne: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6%

Cologne

$917 41.1% 14.9% $161

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$348 15.1%

Cologne

$337 15.1% 3.1% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$288 12.4%

Cologne

$349 15.6% 21.3% $61

Eating Out

Wellington

$248 10.7%

Cologne

$285 12.8% 15% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$164 7.1%

Cologne

$164 7.3% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Wellington

$127 5.5%

Cologne

$106 4.8% 16.6% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$59 2.6%

Cologne

$74 3.3% 24.2% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,143 in Wellington and $1,223 in Cologne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cologne pays 28% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66 in Wellington vs $84 in Cologne. Groceries flip the comparison at $348 vs $337, with Cologne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇩🇪 Cologne

🕒 Local time

23:05 11:05 PM

11:05 11:05 AM

12 h behind Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

1,095,520

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.568 USD

1 NZD = 0.511 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 NZD (1 NZD = 0.568 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 NZD (1 NZD = 0.511 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Wellington Cologne 18,590 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
Cologne

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

Wellington vs Cologne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Wellington and Cologne differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($2,313 vs $2,233 including rent). Cologne is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Wellington. 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: $1,143 in Wellington versus $1,223 in Cologne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cologne runs roughly 32% less than in Wellington. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,065 in Wellington versus $1,103 in Cologne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Cologne gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Wellington and Cologne are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.