Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iceland vs. Edinburgh Cost of Living Summary
Iceland is 25.9% more expensive than Edinburgh.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.7% more in Iceland
- Groceries
-
pay 62.0% more in Iceland
- Transportation
-
pay 9.1% more in Iceland
- Housing
-
pay 39.2% more in Iceland
- Childcare
-
pay 25.3% less in Iceland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.9% more in Iceland
- Clothing
-
pay 37.6% more in Iceland
The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Iceland are more expensive than in Edinburgh.
Iceland vs. Edinburgh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iceland instead of Edinburgh, you would:
pay 44.7% more for restaurants
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.72
£16.98
|
$26.52
ISK3,332
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.92
£7.41
|
$21.32
ISK2,678
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.68
£2.00
|
$3.11
ISK391
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
£1.55
|
$2.72
ISK342
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants
pay 62.0% more for groceries
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.73
£1.30
|
$3.80
ISK478
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.07
£3.79
|
$9.44
ISK1,186
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.45
£4.82
|
$7.78
ISK977
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.38
£3.28
|
$6.71
ISK843
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.52
£3.38
|
$11.22
ISK1,409
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.43
£1.07
|
$1.50
ISK188
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.67
£0.50
|
$1.15
ISK144
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.68
£1.26
|
$1.41
ISK178
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
£1.54
|
$2.34
ISK294
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
£0.59
|
$1.65
ISK207
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.63
£0.47
|
$1.09
ISK137
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries
pay 9.1% more for transportation
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.11
£5.31
|
$9.65
ISK1,213
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.87
£67.93
|
$79.56
ISK9,995
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,254.42
|
$49,144.25
ISK6,173,992
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$30.81
£23.03
|
$25.55
ISK3,210
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation
pay 39.2% more for housing
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$40.98
£30.63
|
$95.65
ISK12,016
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,552.40
£1,160.41
|
$2,289.17
ISK287,588
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,199.68
£896.76
|
$1,830.04
ISK229,909
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$277.58
£207.49
|
$65.15
ISK8,185
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of housing
pay 25.3% less for childcare
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,951.08
£1,458.42
|
$334.67
ISK42,044
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,252.55
£17,381.19
|
$30,711.08
ISK3,858,233
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare
pay 13.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.02
£5.99
|
$11.14
ISK1,400
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
£3.89
|
$5.62
ISK707
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$20.05
£14.98
|
$13.90
ISK1,746
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.63
£39.34
|
$78.17
ISK9,821
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.04
£11.99
|
$16.75
ISK2,105
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 37.6% more for clothing
|
Edinburgh
|
Iceland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$117.77
£88.03
|
$130.91
ISK16,446
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.34
£39.12
|
$61.83
ISK7,768
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$124.28
£92.90
|
$163.81
ISK20,580
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.28
£93.65
|
$237.31
ISK29,813
|
|
Edinburgh vs. Iceland - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United Kingdom vs. Iceland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Kingdom and Iceland.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Iceland or Edinburgh. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.