Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iceland vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 57.6% more expensive than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 67.8% more in Iceland
Groceries: pay 36.1% more in Iceland
Transportation: pay 73.4% more in Iceland
Housing: pay 38.2% more in Iceland
Childcare: pay 18.7% more in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.3% more in Iceland
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Iceland

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

Iceland vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.8% more for restaurants

	Ottawa	Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$25.16	$26.52 ISK3,394	+47.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.40	$21.32 ISK2,728	+93.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.80	$3.11 ISK398	+55.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.18	$2.72 ISK348	+74.6%
Average			+67.8%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.1% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Iceland
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.82	$3.80 ISK487	+39.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.18	$9.44 ISK1,208	+61.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.10	$7.78 ISK996	-10.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.92	$6.71 ISK859	+90.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$8.03	$11.22 ISK1,436	+95.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.67	$1.50 ISK191	-21.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.84	$1.15 ISK147	+91.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.28	$1.41 ISK181	-13.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.33	$2.34 ISK300	+40.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.55	$1.65 ISK211	+48.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.04	$1.09 ISK140	-25.1%
Average			+36.1%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries

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pay 73.4% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.66	$9.65 ISK1,235	+138.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$135.85	$79.56 ISK10,182	-18.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$34,192.21	$49,144.25 ISK6,289,481	+101.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.73	$25.55 ISK3,270	+72.4%
Average			+73.4%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.2% more for housing

	Ottawa	Iceland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.84	$95.65 ISK12,241	+91.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,031.76	$2,289.17 ISK292,968	+57.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,718.66	$1,830.04 ISK234,209	+48.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$166.35	$65.15 ISK8,338	-45.2%
Average			+38.2%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of housing

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pay 18.7% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,102.46	$334.67 ISK42,830	-57.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$22,034.96	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	+94.9%
Average			+18.7%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$8.05	$11.14 ISK1,426	+93.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.24	$5.62 ISK720	+50.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$18.11	$13.90 ISK1,778	+7.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$62.39	$78.17 ISK10,004	+75.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$15.09	$16.75 ISK2,144	+55.2%
Average			+56.3%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Ottawa	Iceland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.89	$130.91 ISK16,753	+147.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$54.43	$61.83 ISK7,913	+58.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$121.83	$163.81 ISK20,965	+88.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$129.96	$237.31 ISK30,371	+155.4%
Average			+112.5%

Ottawa vs. Iceland - 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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