Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Switzerland

Bern vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Bern is 6.0% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 7.8% less in Bern
Groceries: pay 11.6% less in Bern
Transportation: pay 4.6% more in Bern
Housing: pay 12.6% less in Bern
Childcare: pay 76.3% more in Bern
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.4% less in Bern
Clothing: pay 12.6% less in Bern

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

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Bern vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.8% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Bern
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,763	$28.80 CHF23.79	-7.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,268	$15.60 CHF12.88	-42.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK402	$6.23 CHF5.15	+88.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK376	$6.97 CHF5.76	+124.4%
Average			-7.8%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.6% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Bern
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK508	$2.95 CHF2.43	-29.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,324	$12.12 CHF10.01	+10.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK942	$8.18 CHF6.75	+5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK858	$7.71 CHF6.37	+8.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,333	$13.20 CHF10.90	+20.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK182	$1.76 CHF1.46	+17.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$0.91 CHF0.75	-28.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK177	$1.20 CHF0.99	-17.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK355	$2.09 CHF1.73	-28.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK215	$0.72 CHF0.60	-59.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$0.91 CHF0.75	+20.0%
Average			-11.6%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.6% more for transportation

	Reykjavik	Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK941	$8.82 CHF7.29	+13.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,488	$98.40 CHF81.27	+3.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$42,598.89 CHF35,183.79	-15.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,545	$44.64 CHF36.87	+52.6%
Average			+4.6%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.6% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Bern
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,422	$54.60 CHF45.09	-36.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK306K	$1,861.45 CHF1,537.43	-26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK246K	$1,408.46 CHF1,163.29	-30.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,899	$207.74 CHF171.58	+182.9%
Average			-12.6%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of housing

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pay 76.3% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$3,125.25 CHF2,581.25	+163.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$30,462.54 CHF25,159.99	+17.8%
Average			+76.3%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,684	$9.00 CHF7.43	-35.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK817	$6.78 CHF5.60	+0.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,684	$11.23 CHF9.28	-19.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,148	$88.38 CHF72.99	-11.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,372	$24.00 CHF19.82	+22.6%
Average			-8.4%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.6% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Bern
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,058	$139.98 CHF115.62	-6.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK7,972	$60.81 CHF50.22	-7.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,035	$155.71 CHF128.60	-14.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,151	$194.99 CHF161.05	-21.6%
Average			-12.6%

Reykjavik vs. Bern - Cost of clothing

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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

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