Iceland vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 64.0% more expensive than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants
pay 74.8% more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 61.4% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 51.9% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 79.8% more in Iceland
Childcare
pay 40.4% more in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 55.2% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 84.6% more in Iceland

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

Iceland vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

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

pay 74.8% more for restaurants

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.45
NZ$24.02
$26.52
ISK3,254
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.14
NZ$15.19
$21.32
ISK2,616
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.11
NZ$3.50
$3.11
ISK382

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pay 61.4% more for groceries

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
$1.74
NZ$2.89
$3.80
ISK467
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.88
NZ$6.45
$9.44
ISK1,158
Milk (1 gallon) $6.34
NZ$10.53
$7.78
ISK955

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pay 51.9% more for transportation

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.08
NZ$10.11
$9.65
ISK1,185
Monthly public transit pass $74.52
NZ$123.89
$79.56
ISK9,763
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,777.66
NZ$41,193.13
$49,144.25
ISK6M

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pay 79.8% more for housing

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$50.00
NZ$83.12
$95.65
ISK11,737
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $978.36
NZ$1,626.53
$2,289.17
ISK281K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $810.06
NZ$1,346.74
$1,830.04
ISK225K

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pay 40.4% more for childcare

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $635.34
NZ$1,056.27
$334.67
ISK41,067
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,463.91
NZ$22,383.90
$30,711.08
ISK4M

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pay 55.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.04
NZ$10.05
$11.14
ISK1,367
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.35
NZ$5.57
$5.62
ISK690
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$23.12
NZ$38.44
$13.90
ISK1,705

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pay 84.6% more for clothing

 
New Zealand
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.22
NZ$108.43
$130.91
ISK16,063
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.23
NZ$65.22
$61.83
ISK7,587
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$90.28
NZ$150.09
$163.81
ISK20,102

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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: February 2026
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