Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 46.5% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 70.5% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 0.8% less in Seoul
Transportation: pay 44.3% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 57.0% less in Seoul
Childcare: pay 19.2% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.2% less in Seoul
Clothing: pay 60.4% less in Seoul

Expenses including restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries are lower in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 70.5% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,763	$8.96 ₩11,955	-71.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,268	$7.46 ₩9,962	-72.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK402	$1.58 ₩2,112	-52.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK376	$0.79 ₩1,049	-74.7%
Average			-70.5%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK508	$3.10 ₩4,134	-26.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,324	$8.84 ₩11,798	-19.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK942	$7.79 ₩10,403	+0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK858	$3.61 ₩4,813	-49.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,333	$4.74 ₩6,328	-56.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK182	$3.46 ₩4,624	+130.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$1.57 ₩2,091	+23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK177	$2.59 ₩3,462	+77.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK355	$2.83 ₩3,782	-3.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK215	$1.66 ₩2,211	-6.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$1.16 ₩1,542	+52.7%
Average			-0.8%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.3% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK941	$5.53 ₩7,384	-28.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,488	$46.28 ₩61,767	-51.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$29,385.60 ₩39M	-41.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,545	$8.51 ₩11,357	-70.9%
Average			-44.3%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.0% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,422	$20.82 ₩27,787	-75.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK306K	$886.39 ₩1M	-64.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK246K	$620.25 ₩828K	-69.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,899	$162.69 ₩217K	+121.5%
Average			-57.0%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 19.2% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+62.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$22,602.27 ₩30M	-12.6%
Average			+19.2%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,684	$3.73 ₩4,981	-73.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK817	$4.10 ₩5,473	-39.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,684	$3.36 ₩4,483	-75.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,148	$58.22 ₩77,707	-41.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,372	$11.20 ₩14,944	-42.8%
Average			-54.2%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.4% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,058	$57.88 ₩77,255	-61.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK7,972	$32.77 ₩43,743	-50.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,035	$69.99 ₩93,417	-61.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,151	$82.45 ₩110K	-66.9%
Average			-60.4%

Reykjavik vs. Seoul - 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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