Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Lausanne Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 0.0% cheaper than Lausanne.

Restaurants: pay 1.7% less in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 16.5% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 6.4% less in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 6.7% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 44.3% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.6% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 9.4% more in Reykjavik

The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and housing in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Lausanne. Expenses including childcare, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Reykjavik.

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Reykjavik vs. Lausanne Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.7% less for restaurants

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$30.00 CHF24.85	$31.06 ISK3,787	+3.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.00 CHF14.91	$26.97 ISK3,288	+49.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.04 CHF4.17	$3.31 ISK404	-34.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.20 CHF3.48	$3.11 ISK379	-26.0%
Average			-1.7%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.5% more for groceries

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$3.89 CHF3.22	$4.19 ISK511	+7.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.19 CHF10.09	$10.93 ISK1,333	-10.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.22 CHF6.81	$7.78 ISK948	-5.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.12 CHF5.90	$7.08 ISK863	-0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.52 CHF10.38	$11.00 ISK1,342	-12.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.61 CHF1.33	$1.50 ISK183	-6.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 CHF0.78	$1.27 ISK155	+34.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 CHF0.94	$1.46 ISK178	+29.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.05 CHF1.70	$2.93 ISK358	+43.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 CHF0.68	$1.78 ISK216	+116.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 CHF0.74	$0.76 ISK92	-14.9%
Average			+16.5%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.4% less for transportation

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.83 CHF7.31	$7.76 ISK947	-12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$93.60 CHF77.53	$94.80 ISK11,559	+1.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,598.89 CHF35,287.30	$50,588.43 ISK6M	+18.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$44.28 CHF36.68	$29.26 ISK3,567	-33.9%
Average			-6.4%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.7% more for housing

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.20 CHF42.41	$86.01 ISK10,487	+68.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,257.74 CHF1,870.23	$2,522.88 ISK308K	+11.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,782.95 CHF1,476.93	$2,032.25 ISK248K	+14.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$223.06 CHF184.77	$73.44 ISK8,954	-67.1%
Average			+6.7%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 44.3% less for childcare

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,902.06 CHF2,403.95	$1,185.23 ISK145K	-59.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$36,611.05 CHF30,327.20	$25,853.51 ISK3M	-29.4%
Average			-44.3%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.20 CHF8.45	$13.89 ISK1,694	+36.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.09 CHF5.05	$6.74 ISK822	+10.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.80 CHF8.95	$13.89 ISK1,694	+28.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.22 CHF59.00	$100.25 ISK12,224	+40.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.00 CHF19.88	$19.57 ISK2,387	-18.4%
Average			+19.6%

Lausanne vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.4% more for clothing

	Lausanne	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$141.64 CHF117.33	$149.01 ISK18,169	+5.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$76.83 CHF63.64	$65.79 ISK8,022	-14.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$138.68 CHF114.88	$181.84 ISK22,172	+31.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$215.18 CHF178.25	$248.81 ISK30,337	+15.6%
Average			+9.4%

Lausanne 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: October 2026

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