Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

Iceland

Iceland vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 72.1% more expensive than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Iceland
Groceries: pay 51.4% more in Iceland
Transportation: pay 39.3% more in Iceland
Housing: pay 91.5% more in Iceland
Childcare: pay 38.0% more in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.9% more in Iceland
Clothing: pay 94.8% more in Iceland

The cost of restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Iceland are more expensive than in New Zealand. Notably, restaurants, clothing, and housing are significantly more expensive in Iceland.

Planning a move to Iceland? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Iceland vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	New Zealand	Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.26 NZ$23.91	$28.88 ISK3,546	+117.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.99 NZ$16.20	$22.83 ISK2,804	+154.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.68	$3.25 ISK399	+59.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.83 NZ$3.30	$3.01 ISK370	+64.3%
Average			+116.5%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.4% more for groceries

	New Zealand	Iceland
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 NZ$3.11	$3.55 ISK436	+105.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.78 NZ$6.82	$10.11 ISK1,242	+167.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.47 NZ$11.67	$7.79 ISK957	+20.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.79 NZ$10.44	$6.92 ISK850	+19.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 NZ$6.90	$11.01 ISK1,352	+187.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 NZ$2.19	$1.43 ISK175	+17.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 NZ$1.70	$1.23 ISK150	+29.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 NZ$2.38	$1.42 ISK174	+7.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.20 NZ$3.96	$2.60 ISK320	+18.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 NZ$1.60	$1.71 ISK210	+92.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 NZ$1.20	$0.76 ISK93	+13.6%
Average			+51.4%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.3% more for transportation

	New Zealand	Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.34 NZ$11.42	$8.09 ISK993	+27.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$83.43 NZ$150.36	$80.58 ISK9,895	-3.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,108.51 NZ$43,450.50	$48,967.53 ISK6M	+103.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.20 NZ$30.99	$26.24 ISK3,222	+52.6%
Average			+39.3%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 91.5% more for housing

	New Zealand	Iceland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.30 NZ$88.85	$98.24 ISK12,063	+99.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$976.74 NZ$1,760.36	$2,335.24 ISK287K	+139.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$843.74 NZ$1,520.66	$1,824.40 ISK224K	+116.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.64 NZ$172.37	$72.34 ISK8,882	-24.4%
Average			+91.5%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.0% more for childcare

	New Zealand	Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$716.92 NZ$1,292.09	$833.66 ISK102K	+16.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,937.81 NZ$30,526.82	$27,752.37 ISK3M	+63.8%
Average			+38.0%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 70.9% more for entertainment and sports

	New Zealand	Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.70 NZ$10.26	$11.37 ISK1,397	+99.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.26 NZ$5.88	$5.90 ISK724	+80.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.75 NZ$40.99	$13.85 ISK1,701	-39.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.17 NZ$70.59	$83.64 ISK10,271	+113.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.27 NZ$18.51	$17.92 ISK2,200	+74.5%
Average			+70.9%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 94.8% more for clothing

	New Zealand	Iceland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.30 NZ$114.09	$134.47 ISK16,511	+112.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.63 NZ$60.60	$63.25 ISK7,766	+88.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.48 NZ$164.87	$159.03 ISK19,527	+73.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$114.46 NZ$206.29	$237.19 ISK29,124	+107.2%
Average			+94.8%

New Zealand vs. Iceland - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: New Zealand vs. Iceland

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Iceland?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Make 98.3% more money in Iceland

Size Comparison · See true size

New Zealand is about 2.6 times bigger than Iceland.

Moving from New Zealand to Iceland · OECD 2023

7 people moved from New Zealand to Iceland.

More cost comparisons

New Zealand vs.

United States

New Zealand vs.

California

New Zealand vs.

Ireland

New Zealand vs.

Canada

New Zealand vs.

Sweden

New Zealand vs.

Texas

New Zealand vs.

Hawaii

New Zealand vs.

Singapore

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 New Zealand

Add prices for Iceland

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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