Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 57.1% more expensive than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 96.3% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 37.4% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 55.8% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 48.2% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 43.9% more in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.9% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Reykjavik

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

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

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 96.3% more for restaurants

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.24 CA$25.82	$31.06 ISK3,763	+70.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.52 CA$14.89	$26.97 ISK3,268	+156.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CA$2.92	$3.31 ISK402	+60.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.74 CA$2.46	$3.11 ISK376	+79.0%
Average			+96.3%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.4% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$3.07 CA$4.35	$4.19 ISK508	+36.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 CA$7.46	$10.93 ISK1,324	+107.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.24	$7.78 ISK942	-10.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.38 CA$4.78	$7.08 ISK858	+109.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.07 CA$7.18	$11.00 ISK1,333	+116.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.72 CA$2.43	$1.50 ISK182	-12.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CA$0.87	$1.27 ISK154	+105.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.75 CA$2.48	$1.46 ISK177	-16.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.64 CA$2.33	$2.93 ISK355	+78.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 CA$1.65	$1.78 ISK215	+52.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CA$1.53	$0.76 ISK92	-30.1%
Average			+37.4%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.8% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 CA$6.35	$7.76 ISK941	+73.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.69 CA$134.05	$94.80 ISK11,488	+0.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,760.48 CA$39,301.90	$50,588.43 ISK6M	+82.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.45 CA$20.46	$29.26 ISK3,545	+102.5%
Average			+55.8%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.2% more for housing

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.74 CA$70.42	$86.01 ISK10,422	+72.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,478.74 CA$2,093.52	$2,522.88 ISK306K	+70.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,220.86 CA$1,728.44	$2,032.25 ISK246K	+66.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$103.40 CA$146.38	$73.44 ISK8,899	-29.0%
Average			+48.2%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.9% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$927.38 CA$1,312.93	$1,185.23 ISK144K	+27.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,956.31 CA$22,590.15	$25,853.51 ISK3M	+62.0%
Average			+43.9%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.61 CA$7.94	$13.89 ISK1,684	+147.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CA$5.73	$6.74 ISK817	+66.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.31 CA$20.26	$13.89 ISK1,684	-2.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.45 CA$64.35	$100.25 ISK12,148	+120.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 CA$17.91	$19.57 ISK2,372	+54.7%
Average			+79.9%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Ottawa	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.13 CA$85.12	$149.01 ISK18,058	+147.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.89 CA$53.64	$65.79 ISK7,972	+73.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.98 CA$150.04	$181.84 ISK22,035	+71.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.50 CA$136.62	$248.81 ISK30,151	+157.8%
Average			+108.9%

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Ottawa vs. Reykjavik

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Reykjavik?

More cost comparisons

Ottawa vs.

Ankara

Ottawa vs.

Lima

Ottawa vs.

Hanoi

Ottawa vs.

Berlin

Ottawa vs.

Vienna

Ottawa vs.

Warsaw

Ottawa vs.

Canberra

Ottawa vs.

Bangkok

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. Iceland. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and Iceland.

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 Ottawa

Add prices for Reykjavik

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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