Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 25.8% cheaper than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.2% less in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 30.8% less in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 30.8% less in New Zealand
Housing: pay 28.5% less in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 16.8% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.5% less in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 45.3% less in New Zealand

Expenses including clothing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in New Zealand.

New Zealand vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.2% less for restaurants

	Iceland	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,394	$14.45 NZ$25.19	-45.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.32 ISK2,728	$9.14 NZ$15.93	-57.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK398	$2.11 NZ$3.68	-32.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK348	$2.02 NZ$3.52	-25.9%
Average			-40.2%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.8% less for groceries

	Iceland	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK487	$1.74 NZ$3.03	-54.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$3.88 NZ$6.77	-58.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK996	$6.34 NZ$11.05	-18.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK859	$5.96 NZ$10.39	-11.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,436	$4.01 NZ$6.99	-64.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK191	$1.18 NZ$2.06	-21.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK147	$0.95 NZ$1.66	-16.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK181	$1.29 NZ$2.26	-8.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK300	$2.11 NZ$3.68	-9.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK211	$0.85 NZ$1.48	-48.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK140	$0.80 NZ$1.39	-27.1%
Average			-30.8%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.8% less for transportation

	Iceland	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,235	$6.08 NZ$10.60	-37.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,182	$74.52 NZ$129.96	-6.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	$24,777.66 NZ$43,211.84	-49.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,270	$17.81 NZ$31.06	-30.3%
Average			-30.8%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.5% less for housing

	Iceland	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,241	$50.00 NZ$87.19	-47.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	$978.36 NZ$1,706.24	-57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	$810.06 NZ$1,412.73	-55.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,338	$95.66 NZ$166.83	+46.8%
Average			-28.5%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.8% more for childcare

	Iceland	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,830	$635.34 NZ$1,108.03	+89.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$13,463.91 NZ$23,480.84	-56.2%
Average			+16.8%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,426	$6.04 NZ$10.54	-45.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK720	$3.35 NZ$5.85	-40.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,778	$23.12 NZ$40.33	+66.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK10,004	$37.72 NZ$65.79	-51.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,144	$10.72 NZ$18.69	-36.0%
Average			-21.5%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.3% less for clothing

	Iceland	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,753	$65.22 NZ$113.75	-50.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,913	$39.23 NZ$68.42	-36.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,965	$90.28 NZ$157.45	-44.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK30,371	$119.43 NZ$208.28	-49.7%
Average			-45.3%

Iceland vs. New Zealand - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Iceland vs.

Egypt

Iceland vs.

Vietnam

Iceland vs.

Italy

Iceland vs.

Poland

Iceland vs.

Ireland

Iceland vs.

Spain

Iceland vs.

China

Iceland vs.

Australia

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Reykjavik vs. Wellington

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

Add prices for Iceland

Add prices for New Zealand

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Zealand or Iceland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.