Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 37.7% cheaper than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 67.9% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 5.6% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 52.2% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 33.4% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 18.9% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.3% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 44.8% less in South Korea

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, housing, and childcare are lower in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.9% less for restaurants

	Iceland	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.52 ISK3,394	$6.72 ₩9,865	-74.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.32 ISK2,728	$5.50 ₩8,068	-74.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK398	$1.47 ₩2,152	-52.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.72 ISK348	$0.82 ₩1,211	-69.7%
Average			-67.9%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.6% more for groceries

	Iceland	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.80 ISK487	$2.87 ₩4,217	-24.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$5.63 ₩8,255	-40.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK996	$7.67 ₩11,264	-1.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.71 ISK859	$2.84 ₩4,162	-57.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.22 ISK1,436	$3.34 ₩4,896	-70.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK191	$3.24 ₩4,748	+116.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ISK147	$1.39 ₩2,037	+21.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.41 ISK181	$2.80 ₩4,104	+97.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.34 ISK300	$2.40 ₩3,528	+2.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 ISK211	$1.78 ₩2,616	+8.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.09 ISK140	$1.20 ₩1,767	+10.1%
Average			+5.6%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.2% less for transportation

	Iceland	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.65 ISK1,235	$4.40 ₩6,458	-54.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$79.56 ISK10,182	$47.17 ₩69,233	-40.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	-46.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.55 ISK3,270	$8.33 ₩12,228	-67.4%
Average			-52.2%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.4% less for housing

	Iceland	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.65 ISK12,241	$21.68 ₩31,824	-77.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	$473.91 ₩695,518	-79.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	$357.19 ₩524,216	-80.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.15 ISK8,338	$132.53 ₩194,509	+103.4%
Average			-33.4%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 18.9% less for childcare

	Iceland	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$334.67 ISK42,830	$378.52 ₩555,533	+13.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	-51.0%
Average			-18.9%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.14 ISK1,426	$3.12 ₩4,576	-72.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.62 ISK720	$3.57 ₩5,236	-36.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.90 ISK1,778	$3.18 ₩4,673	-77.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$78.17 ISK10,004	$49.86 ₩73,176	-36.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.75 ISK2,144	$10.12 ₩14,850	-39.6%
Average			-52.3%

Iceland vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% less for clothing

	Iceland	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$130.91 ISK16,753	$66.46 ₩97,538	-49.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.83 ISK7,913	$50.68 ₩74,384	-18.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$163.81 ISK20,965	$72.74 ₩106,755	-55.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$237.31 ISK30,371	$103.23 ₩151,509	-56.5%
Average			-44.8%

Iceland vs. South Korea - 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: December 2025

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