Cost of living comparison

compared to

Melbourne vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Melbourne is 16.9% more expensive than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 28.0% less in Melbourne
Groceries: pay 21.6% less in Melbourne
Transportation: pay 26.7% less in Melbourne
Housing: pay 0.2% less in Melbourne
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Melbourne
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.1% more in Melbourne
Clothing: pay 42.2% less in Melbourne

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

Melbourne vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.0% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,517	$19.63 A$29.55	-28.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,913	$10.47 A$15.76	-54.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK427	$2.69 A$4.05	-19.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK345	$2.43 A$3.66	-10.0%
Average			-28.0%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.6% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK593	$2.73 A$4.11	-41.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$4.60 A$6.93	-51.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK976	$6.19 A$9.33	-18.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK832	$5.43 A$8.17	-16.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,445	$4.11 A$6.19	-63.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK204	$1.52 A$2.28	-4.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK150	$1.36 A$2.04	+15.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK190	$1.40 A$2.10	-6.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK325	$1.87 A$2.82	-26.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK217	$1.29 A$1.94	-24.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK145	$1.11 A$1.68	-1.5%
Average			-21.6%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.7% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,236	$4.42 A$6.66	-54.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,337	$122.33 A$184.18	+38.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	$29,060.36 A$43,752.43	-42.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,592	$14.62 A$22.01	-47.9%
Average			-26.7%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.2% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,490	$51.49 A$77.52	-37.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	$1,557.21 A$2,344.49	-31.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	$1,186.33 A$1,786.10	-41.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,791	$127.27 A$191.62	+109.1%
Average			-0.2%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,949	$1,960.54 A$2,951.73	+498.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$22,736.38 A$34,231.23	-26.0%
Average			+236.1%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,680	$7.85 A$11.82	-40.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK790	$3.69 A$5.56	-40.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,783	$32.71 A$49.25	+134.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,179	$49.01 A$73.78	-43.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,199	$16.35 A$24.62	-4.8%
Average			+1.1%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.2% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Melbourne
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,569	$70.24 A$105.75	-51.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,187	$53.21 A$80.12	-16.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,755	$107.56 A$161.94	-44.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,840	$109.31 A$164.57	-56.1%
Average			-42.2%

Reykjavik vs. Melbourne - 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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