Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Netherlands

Rotterdam vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Rotterdam is 18.1% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% less in Rotterdam
Groceries: pay 31.9% less in Rotterdam
Transportation: pay 7.0% more in Rotterdam
Housing: pay 6.5% less in Rotterdam
Childcare: pay 5.4% more in Rotterdam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.5% less in Rotterdam
Clothing: pay 40.1% less in Rotterdam

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

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Rotterdam vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,763	$20.72 €18.44	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,268	$13.44 €11.96	-50.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK402	$3.86 €3.44	+16.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK376	$3.42 €3.04	+9.9%
Average			-33.1%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.9% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK508	$2.37 €2.11	-43.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,324	$6.02 €5.35	-45.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK942	$5.52 €4.91	-29.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK858	$5.35 €4.76	-24.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,333	$6.10 €5.43	-44.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK182	$1.52 €1.35	+1.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$1.16 €1.03	-8.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK177	$1.18 €1.05	-19.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK355	$1.55 €1.38	-47.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK215	$0.78 €0.70	-55.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$0.68 €0.61	-9.8%
Average			-31.9%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.0% more for transportation

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK941	$9.75 €8.68	+25.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,488	$110.85 €98.66	+16.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$41,419.02 €36,864.42	-18.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,545	$31.97 €28.45	+9.3%
Average			+7.0%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.5% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,422	$54.94 €48.90	-36.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK306K	$1,961.78 €1,746.05	-22.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK246K	$1,523.86 €1,356.29	-25.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,899	$229.16 €203.96	+212.0%
Average			-6.5%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of housing

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pay 5.4% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$2,681.14 €2,386.32	+126.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$12,697.80 €11,301.50	-50.9%
Average			+5.4%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,684	$7.05 €6.28	-49.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK817	$4.38 €3.90	-35.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,684	$14.56 €12.96	+4.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,148	$48.58 €43.24	-51.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,372	$15.68 €13.95	-19.9%
Average			-36.5%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.1% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Rotterdam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,058	$93.71 €83.41	-37.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK7,972	$39.14 €34.83	-40.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,035	$109.92 €97.83	-39.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,151	$141.23 €125.70	-43.2%
Average			-40.1%

Reykjavik vs. Rotterdam - 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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