Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Folkestone

For one person, living is cheaper in Folkestone: $1,977 a month against $2,376 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Folkestone
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Folkestone Living Index

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,376

/mo nomad

Folkestone

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wellington and in Folkestone

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

A single person spends $2,376 per month in Wellington vs $1,977 in Folkestone, rent included.

Wellington $2,376
Folkestone $1,977

A couple spends around $3,407 per month in Wellington vs $3,052 in Folkestone, rent included.

Wellington $3,407
Folkestone $3,052

A family of three spends $4,439 per month in Wellington vs $4,128 in Folkestone, rent included.

Wellington $4,439
Folkestone $4,128

Wellington costs about 20% more than Folkestone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Wellington and Folkestone sit above the global median – Wellington by 75%, Folkestone by 46%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.01 NZ$24.78

$17.37 £13.03

-19.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 NZ$116

$66.7 £50.1

-1.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.37 NZ$16.56

$10.54 £7.90

-11.10%

Cappuccino

$3.40 NZ$6.02

$4.74 £3.56

-28.27%

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

$2.46 NZ$4.35

$2.72 £2.04

-9.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 NZ$3.09

$1.84 £1.38

-4.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.27 NZ$12.85

$6.75 £5.06

7.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.71 NZ$11.87

$6.45 £4.84

4.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 NZ$3.43

$1.50 £1.13

29.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 NZ$3.81

$1.33 £1.00

61.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 NZ$3.25

$1.30 £0.98

40.77%

Eggs

$6.88 NZ$12.16

$2.98 £2.23

130.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.19 NZ$16.26

$9.60 £7.20

-4.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.99 NZ$17.67

$7.80 £5.85

28.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 NZ$26.48

$14.76 £11.07

1.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 NZ$5.36

$3.25 £2.44

-6.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 NZ$3.96

$1.45 £1.09

54.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 NZ$5.47

$2.79 £2.09

10.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.55 NZ$11.59

$3.26 £2.44

100.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 NZ$3.83

$1.59 £1.20

35.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 NZ$2.27

$1.41 £1.06

-9.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.10 NZ$3.71

$1.69 £1.27

24.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 NZ$2.12

$1.48 £1.11

-18.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$25.79 NZ$45.60

$23.97 £17.98

7.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.27 NZ$19.94

$10.79 £8.09

4.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 NZ$5.51

$2.78 £2.09

12.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 NZ$4.98

$3.67 £2.75

-23.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 NZ$4.89

$2.71 £2.03

1.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 NZ$184

$32.78 £24.59

217.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 NZ$3.33

$1.32 £0.99

42.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NZ$3.14

$1.68 £1.26

5.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.72 NZ$59.6

$21.69 £16.28

55.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 NZ$3.27

$1.98 £1.48

-6.57%

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

$28.7K NZ$50.8K

$38.4K £28.8K

-25.19%

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

$23.8K NZ$42.1K

$40.6K £30.5K

-41.38%

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

$194 NZ$344

$253 £190

-23.13%

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

$33.42 NZ$59.1

$24.53 £18.40

36.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.5 NZ$94.7

$40.77 £30.58

31.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.12 NZ$67.4

$73.1 £54.8

-47.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.15 NZ$28.56

$9.46 £7.10

70.72%

Cinema Ticket

$11.97 NZ$21.17

$21.11 £15.84

-43.30%

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

$1,056 NZ$1,868

$1,046 £785

0.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K NZ$22.9K

$20.3K £15.2K

-36.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 NZ$140

$69.4 £52.1

14.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.87 NZ$51.1

$31.93 £23.95

-9.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 NZ$182

$77.6 £58.2

32.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$156 NZ$275

$51.1 £38.30

204.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,217 NZ$2,152

$1,130 £848

7.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 NZ$2,028

$810 £607

41.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,154 NZ$3,809

$1,479 £1,109

45.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,731 NZ$3,061

$1,631 £1,224

6.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,780 NZ$12.0K

$3,465 £2,600

95.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,655 NZ$6,464

$3,474 £2,606

5.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,812 NZ$4,972

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

4.91

9.78%

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

Last update for Wellington: October 18, 2026

Last update for Folkestone: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wellington

$1.1K 48.3%

Folkestone

$810 41% 29.4% $337

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$348 14.6%

Folkestone

$285 14.4% 18% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$281 11.8%

Folkestone

$318 16.1% 13.1% $37

Eating Out

Wellington

$248 10.4%

Folkestone

$292 14.8% 18.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$165 6.9%

Folkestone

$103 5.2% 37.3% $61

Getting Around

Wellington

$126 5.3%

Folkestone

$53 2.7% 57.7% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$62 2.6%

Folkestone

$115 5.8% 85.8% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,217 in Wellington versus $1,130 in Folkestone. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Wellington versus $67.0 in Folkestone. Groceries tell a different story – $348 in Wellington vs $285 in Folkestone – so Folkestone wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇬🇧 Folkestone

🕒 Local time

06:13 6:13 AM

18:13 6:13 PM

12 h behind Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

45,273

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.565 USD

1 NZD = 0.503 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 1.77 NZD (1 NZD = 0.565 USD). 1 EUR = 1.99 NZD (1 NZD = 0.503 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wellington Folkestone 18,820 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
Folkestone

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 Folkestone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,376 in Wellington, $1,977 in Folkestone – roughly 20% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,564 per month in Wellington and $2,966 in Folkestone. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Folkestone, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Wellington and $67.0 in Folkestone. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,376 in Wellington and $1,977 in Folkestone. That's a gap of about 20%.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Folkestone, where all-in costs run around $1,977, than in Wellington at $2,376. In Folkestone it covers expenses comfortably, while in Wellington it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Wellington has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,977 in Folkestone to $2,376 in Wellington. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Folkestone. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Wellington makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.