Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 60.3% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 70.7% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 60.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 52.5% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 42.9% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 67.1% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 58.0% less in South Africa

Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, childcare, groceries, clothing, and transportation are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.7% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,517	$9.33 ZAR157.99	-66.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,913	$5.11 ZAR86.54	-77.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK427	$1.03 ZAR17.46	-69.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK345	$0.80 ZAR13.59	-70.2%
Average			-70.7%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.2% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK593	$1.00 ZAR16.97	-78.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$3.88 ZAR65.75	-58.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK976	$4.37 ZAR73.98	-42.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK832	$2.33 ZAR39.49	-64.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,445	$2.13 ZAR36.12	-81.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK204	$0.73 ZAR12.33	-54.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK150	$0.65 ZAR11.04	-44.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK190	$0.68 ZAR11.57	-54.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK325	$0.71 ZAR12.00	-72.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK217	$0.59 ZAR9.91	-65.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK145	$0.60 ZAR10.16	-46.9%
Average			-60.2%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.5% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,236	$4.92 ZAR83.33	-49.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,337	$56.18 ZAR950.86	-36.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	-57.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,592	$9.34 ZAR158.05	-66.7%
Average			-52.5%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.9% less for housing

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,490	$39.36 ZAR666.17	-52.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	-82.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	-82.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,791	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	+44.8%
Average			-42.9%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 67.1% less for childcare

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,949	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	-47.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	-87.1%
Average			-67.1%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,680	$2.18 ZAR36.86	-83.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK790	$2.05 ZAR34.68	-66.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,783	$2.96 ZAR50.17	-78.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,179	$30.26 ZAR512.21	-65.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,199	$6.85 ZAR115.92	-60.1%
Average			-70.9%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.0% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,569	$50.74 ZAR858.89	-65.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,187	$32.75 ZAR554.38	-48.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,755	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	-51.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,840	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	-67.1%
Average			-58.0%

Reykjavik vs. South Africa - 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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