Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 2.8 times more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 6.5 times more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 39.0% more in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.3 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 94.3% more in Reykjavik

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Beijing. Notably, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Reykjavik.

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Reykjavik vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.5 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$31.06 ISK3,763	+594.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$26.97 ISK3,268	+416.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$3.31 ISK402	+534.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$3.11 ISK376	+1040.5%
Average			+552.0%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$4.19 ISK508	+142.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.28	$10.93 ISK1,324	+51.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.88	$7.78 ISK942	+21.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$7.08 ISK858	+250.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$11.00 ISK1,333	+650.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$1.50 ISK182	+61.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$1.27 ISK154	+60.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$1.46 ISK177	+57.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.75	$2.93 ISK355	+312.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$1.78 ISK215	+452.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.76 ISK92	+90.5%
Average			+146.8%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$7.76 ISK941	+56.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.53	$94.80 ISK11,488	+176.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$50,588.43 ISK6M	+161.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$29.26 ISK3,545	+524.7%
Average			+141.6%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.47	$86.01 ISK10,422	+502.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,267.07	$2,522.88 ISK306K	+169.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,552.67	$2,032.25 ISK246K	+282.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.65	$73.44 ISK8,899	+65.1%
Average			+199.9%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 39.0% more for childcare

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,371.01	$1,185.23 ISK144K	+81.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	$25,853.51 ISK3M	+6.5%
Average			+39.0%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$13.89 ISK1,684	+1064.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$6.74 ISK817	+87.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.94	$13.89 ISK1,684	+221.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.32	$100.25 ISK12,148	+141.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.90	$19.57 ISK2,372	+162.5%
Average			+230.4%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 94.3% more for clothing

	Beijing	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.03	$149.01 ISK18,058	+111.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.36	$65.79 ISK7,972	+62.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.00	$181.84 ISK22,035	+109.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.02	$248.81 ISK30,151	+98.4%
Average			+94.3%

Beijing vs. Reykjavik - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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