How does level 3 NCEA compare to Level 1 and 2?

I am currently a Year 12 taking NCEA Level 2 and I am on track to get an excellence endorsement if I do well in my externals. I’m thinking about what subjects to take next year and how many to take - is Level 3 much harder than Level 2? Thank you!

Although Level 3 is a step up from the previous two levels, I would say that it is a fair increase in difficulty. It uses a lot of the knowledge gained from previous years of study and provides a more comprehensive framework for exploring different subjects.