Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Christchurch Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 72.5% more expensive than Christchurch.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 65.7% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 32.8% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 73.0% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 45.3% more in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 99.0% more in Reykjavik

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

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Reykjavik vs. Christchurch Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.59	$31.06 ISK3,782	+121.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.74	$26.97 ISK3,284	+200.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.29 NZ$4.02	$3.31 ISK404	+44.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.81 NZ$3.17	$3.11 ISK378	+71.8%
Average			+130.5%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 65.7% more for groceries

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$1.83 NZ$3.22	$4.19 ISK511	+128.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.65 NZ$6.41	$10.93 ISK1,331	+199.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 NZ$11.23	$7.78 ISK947	+21.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.84 NZ$10.26	$7.08 ISK862	+21.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.20 NZ$7.38	$11.00 ISK1,340	+161.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.14 NZ$2.01	$1.50 ISK183	+31.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 NZ$1.82	$1.27 ISK154	+22.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 NZ$2.14	$1.46 ISK178	+19.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.74 NZ$3.06	$2.93 ISK357	+68.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 NZ$1.20	$1.78 ISK216	+159.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 NZ$1.14	$0.76 ISK92	+16.4%
Average			+65.7%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.8% more for transportation

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.14 NZ$12.53	$7.76 ISK946	+8.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$100.84 NZ$177.05	$94.80 ISK11,545	-6.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,203.61 NZ$44,251.79	$50,588.43 ISK6M	+100.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.97 NZ$28.03	$29.26 ISK3,563	+83.3%
Average			+32.8%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.0% more for housing

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.23 NZ$79.41	$86.01 ISK10,474	+90.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,208.64 NZ$2,122.10	$2,522.88 ISK307K	+108.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$969.15 NZ$1,701.61	$2,032.25 ISK247K	+109.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$120.70 NZ$211.93	$73.44 ISK8,943	-39.2%
Average			+73.0%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 45.3% more for childcare

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$668.74 NZ$1,174.16	$1,185.23 ISK144K	+77.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,713.88 NZ$38,124.63	$25,853.51 ISK3M	+19.1%
Average			+45.3%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.80	$13.89 ISK1,692	+106.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.66	$6.74 ISK821	+109.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.83 NZ$41.84	$13.89 ISK1,692	-41.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.47 NZ$41.20	$100.25 ISK12,209	+327.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.67	$19.57 ISK2,384	+74.7%
Average			+109.9%

Christchurch vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 99.0% more for clothing

	Christchurch	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.65 NZ$102.98	$149.01 ISK18,147	+154.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.39 NZ$69.16	$65.79 ISK8,012	+67.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.20 NZ$174.17	$181.84 ISK22,145	+83.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$123.35 NZ$216.58	$248.81 ISK30,300	+101.7%
Average			+99.0%

Christchurch 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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