Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 62.8% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 84.0% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 57.6% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 59.2% less in Shanghai
Housing: pay 64.4% less in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 13.0% more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.5% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 56.4% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 84.0% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,763	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-85.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,268	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-80.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK402	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-81.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK376	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-88.1%
Average			-84.0%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.6% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK508	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-52.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,324	$8.60 CN¥57.52	-21.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK942	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-11.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK858	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-76.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,333	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-86.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK182	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-33.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK177	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-38.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK355	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-73.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK215	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-79.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-42.7%
Average			-57.6%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.2% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK941	$4.96 CN¥33.21	-36.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,488	$29.83 CN¥199.59	-68.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-61.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,545	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-80.6%
Average			-59.2%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.4% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,422	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-87.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK306K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	-58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK246K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	-71.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,899	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-40.0%
Average			-64.4%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 13.0% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+19.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+7.1%
Average			+13.0%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,684	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-91.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK817	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-50.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,684	$3.73 CN¥24.95	-73.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,148	$65.69 CN¥439.52	-34.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,372	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-54.3%
Average			-65.5%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.4% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,058	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-63.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK7,972	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-43.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,035	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-58.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,151	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-57.5%
Average			-56.4%

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai - 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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