Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reykjavik vs. Basel Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 11.7% cheaper than Basel.

Restaurants: pay 20.8% less in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 12.6% less in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 4.5% less in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 2.5% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 49.5% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.6% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 2.2% more in Reykjavik

The cost of housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Basel. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are lower in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik vs. Basel Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Reykjavik instead of Basel, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.8% less for restaurants

	Basel	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.28 CHF25.11	$27.48 ISK3,517	-12.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.77 CHF15.07	$22.76 ISK2,913	+21.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.84 CHF4.68	$3.34 ISK427	-42.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$5.36 CHF4.30	$2.70 ISK345	-49.6%
Average			-20.8%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% less for groceries

	Basel	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$3.85 CHF3.09	$4.63 ISK593	+20.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.39 CHF11.55	$9.44 ISK1,208	-34.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.54 CHF6.85	$7.63 ISK976	-10.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$8.19 CHF6.58	$6.50 ISK832	-20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$16.89 CHF13.56	$11.29 ISK1,445	-33.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 CHF1.42	$1.59 ISK204	-10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 CHF0.98	$1.17 ISK150	-4.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.90 CHF1.53	$1.49 ISK190	-21.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.32 CHF2.67	$2.54 ISK325	-23.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 CHF1.18	$1.70 ISK217	+15.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.34 CHF1.07	$1.13 ISK145	-15.5%
Average			-12.6%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.5% less for transportation

	Basel	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.38 CHF6.72	$9.66 ISK1,236	+15.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$107.61 CHF86.39	$88.58 ISK11,337	-17.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,041.86 CHF32,947.46	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	+23.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$46.17 CHF37.07	$28.07 ISK3,592	-39.2%
Average			-4.5%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5% more for housing

	Basel	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.97 CHF48.14	$81.97 ISK10,490	+36.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,066.08 CHF1,658.60	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	+9.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,496.32 CHF1,201.21	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	+36.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$219.01 CHF175.81	$60.87 ISK7,791	-72.2%
Average			+2.5%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 49.5% less for childcare

	Basel	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,492.13 CHF2,000.62	$327.78 ISK41,949	-86.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$35,035.74 CHF28,125.88	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	-12.3%
Average			-49.5%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Basel	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.01 CHF8.04	$13.12 ISK1,680	+31.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.60 CHF5.30	$6.17 ISK790	-6.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.89 CHF9.54	$13.94 ISK1,783	+17.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$94.49 CHF75.85	$87.35 ISK11,179	-7.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$25.03 CHF20.09	$17.18 ISK2,199	-31.3%
Average			+0.6%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2% more for clothing

	Basel	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$143.69 CHF115.35	$145.10 ISK18,569	+1.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$89.47 CHF71.82	$63.97 ISK8,187	-28.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$177.52 CHF142.51	$193.43 ISK24,755	+9.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$195.20 CHF156.70	$248.79 ISK31,840	+27.5%
Average			+2.2%

Basel vs. Reykjavik - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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