Cost of living comparison

Germany

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Cologne Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 43.7% more expensive than Cologne.

Restaurants: pay 39.6% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 54.4% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 33.6% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 47.4% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 0.2% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.3% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 59.5% more in Reykjavik

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

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Reykjavik vs. Cologne Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.6% more for restaurants

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.35 €14.09	$27.48 ISK3,307	+68.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 €10.07	$22.76 ISK2,739	+94.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.30 €2.84	$3.34 ISK401	+1.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.85 €2.46	$2.70 ISK325	-5.5%
Average			+39.6%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.4% more for groceries

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$2.33 €2.01	$4.63 ISK558	+99.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.48 €6.44	$9.44 ISK1,136	+26.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.88 €4.20	$7.63 ISK918	+56.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.13 €3.56	$6.50 ISK783	+57.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.34 €6.32	$11.29 ISK1,359	+53.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 €1.25	$1.59 ISK191	+9.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.84 €0.72	$1.17 ISK141	+39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.03 €0.89	$1.49 ISK179	+45.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 €1.89	$2.54 ISK305	+15.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 €0.62	$1.70 ISK204	+137.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.71 €0.61	$1.13 ISK136	+58.8%
Average			+54.4%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.6% more for transportation

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.54 €6.50	$9.66 ISK1,163	+28.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.74 €58.39	$88.58 ISK10,661	+30.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,745.96 €27,362.48	$50,771.00 ISK6M	+59.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.29 €20.94	$28.07 ISK3,378	+15.5%
Average			+33.6%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.4% more for housing

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.41 €39.14	$81.97 ISK9,865	+80.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,253.64 €1,080.54	$2,259.48 ISK272K	+80.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$973.32 €838.93	$2,034.90 ISK245K	+109.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$305.60 €263.40	$60.87 ISK7,326	-80.1%
Average			+47.4%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 0.2% less for childcare

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$782.55 €674.50	$327.78 ISK39,448	-58.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,466.49 €16,778.56	$30,711.08 ISK4M	+57.8%
Average			-0.2%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.26 €4.53	$13.12 ISK1,579	+149.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.43 €3.82	$6.17 ISK743	+39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.58 €8.26	$13.94 ISK1,677	+45.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.80 €37.75	$87.35 ISK10,513	+99.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.02 €12.08	$17.18 ISK2,068	+22.6%
Average			+71.3%

Cologne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.5% more for clothing

	Cologne	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$98.11 €84.56	$145.10 ISK17,462	+47.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.80 €37.75	$63.97 ISK7,699	+46.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$109.99 €94.80	$193.43 ISK23,279	+75.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$147.95 €127.52	$248.79 ISK29,942	+68.2%
Average			+59.5%

Cologne 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: September 2026

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