Cost of living comparison

compared to

Edinburgh vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

Edinburgh is 26.9% more expensive than Iceland overall.

Restaurants
pay 26.3% less in Edinburgh
Groceries
pay 31.4% less in Edinburgh
Transportation
pay 3.7% less in Edinburgh
Housing
pay 50.6% more in Edinburgh
Childcare
pay 3.3 times more in Edinburgh
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.7% less in Edinburgh
Clothing
pay 24.2% less in Edinburgh

The cost of childcare and housing in Edinburgh are more expensive than in Iceland. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Edinburgh. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Edinburgh instead of Iceland, you would:

pay 26.3% less for restaurants

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $26.52
ISK3,352
$22.72
£16.99
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.32
ISK2,694
$9.92
£7.42
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.11
ISK393
$2.68
£2.00

Improve prices ·

pay 31.4% less for groceries

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Bread
1 loaf
$3.80
ISK481
$1.73
£1.30
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.44
ISK1,193
$5.07
£3.79
Milk (1 gallon) $7.78
ISK983
$6.45
£4.82

Improve prices ·

pay 3.7% less for transportation

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Gasoline (1 gallon) $9.65
ISK1,220
$7.11
£5.32
Monthly public transit pass $79.56
ISK10,056
$90.87
£67.96
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $49,144.25
ISK6,211,833
$37,798.76
£28,267.08

Improve prices ·

pay 50.6% more for housing

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$95.65
ISK12,090
$40.98
£30.65
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,289.17
ISK289,351
$1,552.40
£1,160.93
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,830.04
ISK231,318
$1,199.68
£897.16

Improve prices ·

pay 3.3 times more for childcare

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $334.67
ISK42,302
$1,951.08
£1,459.08
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $30,711.08
ISK3,881,881
$23,252.55
£17,388.98

Improve prices ·

pay 5.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $11.14
ISK1,408
$8.02
£6.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.62
ISK711
$5.20
£3.89
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.90
ISK1,756
$20.05
£14.99

Improve prices ·

pay 24.2% less for clothing

 
Iceland
Edinburgh
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$130.91
ISK16,546
$117.77
£88.07
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$61.83
ISK7,815
$52.34
£39.14
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$163.81
ISK20,706
$124.28
£92.94

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iceland vs. United Kingdom. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iceland and United Kingdom.

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 Edinburgh or Iceland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.