Cost of Living in Dunedin, 🇳🇿 New Zealand - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Nov 12, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 3 $1,847 $992 $1,382 $970 $92

Utilities 13 — $144 $180 $105 —

Internet & Mobile 16 17 18 $16 $66 $94 $66 $4

Groceries 12 $103 $199 $596 $159 $6

Transportation 8 9 14 $100 $128 $344 $61 $22

Dining Out 12 20 $1,003 $122 $316 $97 $43

Leisure Activities 7 27 $176 $120 $222 $78 $14

Health Insurance 21 22 $67 $61 $183 — —

Visa & Legal Fees 23 26 $3 $10 $17 — $65

Total $3,315 $1,842 $3,334 $1,536 $246

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 $969.97 $776 – $1,140 per month

Coworking Space 5 $165.08 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 $1,846.67 $1,283 – $2,383 per month

Coliving Space 4 1 $606.23 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 12 $2.94 per cup

Beer 24 $6.16 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 12 $12.31 per meal

Fast Food Combo 20 $8.95 per meal

Apples 12 $2.35 per kg

Bread 12 $1.34 per loaf

Milk 12 $1.41 per liter

Rice 12 $1.87 per kg

Chicken Fillets 12 $8.51 per kg

Beef 12 $17.11 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $8.39 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $67.12 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 12 $1.68 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start $2.33 per trip

Taxi per km $1.79 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 8 $60.62 per month

Gasoline 14 $2.06 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $10.91 per trip

Scooter Rental $7.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 16 15 $13.99 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 18 $52.04 per month

Gym Membership $36.25 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $11.67 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 17 $16.23 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $12.26 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $72.96 per pair

Summer Dress $43.77 per dress

Running Shoes $107.98 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $26.26 per visit

Laundry 25 $0.40 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 11 $37.49 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 11 $10.35 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Nov 12, 2026
Last changed: Nov 14, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 1.787 NZD on Nov 6, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, Newcastle

Change history

Nov 14, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 2451.4 1846.67
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 1038.93 969.97
- Apples 2.48 2.35
- Beef 13.42 17.11
- Beer 6.71 6.16
31 more changes
- Bread 2.19 1.34
- Chicken Fillets 10.8 8.51
- Coffee 3.39 2.94
- Coliving Space 787.95 606.23
- Coworking Space 242.22 165.08
- Dining Out local 163.43, nomad 963.05, expat 437.75, family 642.03, tourist 64.2 local 97.37, nomad 1003.08, expat 121.99, family 315.61, tourist 42.81
- Doctor Visit (GP) 37.94 37.49
- Fast Food Combo 9.63 8.95
- Gasoline 1.72 2.06
- Groceries local 379.38, nomad 204.28, expat 496.12, family 1079.78, tourist 8.75 local 158.98, nomad 103.34, expat 198.73, family 596.18, tourist 6.01
- Gym Membership 43.77 36.25
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 75.88, expat 64.2, family 151.75, tourist 3.5 local 0, nomad 67.2, expat 61, family 182.99
- Housing local 963.05, nomad 1809.37, expat 1284.07, family 1867.73, tourist 107.98 local 969.97, nomad 1846.67, expat 991.79, family 1382.2, tourist 92.33
- Internet & Mobile local 64.2, nomad 81.71, expat 75.88, family 128.41, tourist 4.67 local 66.03, nomad 16.23, family 94.01, tourist 3.79
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 49.61 52.04
- Laundry 5.84 0.4
- Leisure Activities local 87.55, nomad 321.02, expat 233.47, family 350.2, tourist 32.1 local 78.22, nomad 176.15, expat 120.19, family 222.48, tourist 13.99
- Meal (Inexpensive) 14.01 12.31
- Milk 1.87 1.41
- Mobile Plan 26.26 13.99
- Monthly Transport Pass 70.04 60.62
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.46 10.35
- Rice 1.98 1.87
- Ride-hailing (5km) 10.51 10.91
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 14.59 16.23
- Taxi per km 2.22 1.79
- Transportation local 70.04, nomad 128.41, expat 221.79, family 379.38, tourist 26.26 local 60.62, nomad 99.79, expat 127.77, family 344.26, tourist 22.38
- Utilities local 122.57, nomad 0, expat 163.43, family 262.65, tourist 0 local 105, nomad 0, expat 144.08, family 180.1, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 29.18, expat 37.94, family 70.04, tourist 1.17 local 0, nomad 2.73, expat 10.28, family 17.28, tourist 65.47
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.46 1.68
- Wine (Mid-range) 11.38 8.39
lint fix pass corrected units, borrowed-price labels, source support and exact profile formulas for Meal (Inexpensive), Fast Food Combo, Beef, Wine (Mid-range), Taxi per km, Gasoline, Mobile Plan, Gym Membership, Housing, Utilities, Internet & Mobile, Groceries, Transportation, Dining Out, Leisure Activities, Health Insurance, Visa & Legal Fees, Ride-hailing (5km), SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid), Water (1.5L bottle), Laundry. Official visa fees replace the travel-advice citation; the unreachable wine search was dropped (immigration.govt.nz, newzealand.com, dashlaundry.nz).

Dunedin cost of living