Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Switzerland

St. Gallen vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

St. Gallen is 4.8% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 6.6% less in St. Gallen
Groceries: pay 12.9% less in St. Gallen
Transportation: pay 3.2% more in St. Gallen
Housing: pay 6.6% less in St. Gallen
Childcare: pay 54.1% more in St. Gallen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.3% less in St. Gallen
Clothing: pay 14.3% less in St. Gallen

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

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St. Gallen vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in St. Gallen instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.6% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,782	$28.80 CHF23.76	-7.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,284	$18.00 CHF14.85	-33.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK404	$5.85 CHF4.83	+76.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK378	$5.16 CHF4.26	+66.1%
Average			-6.6%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.9% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK511	$3.12 CHF2.57	-25.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,331	$12.50 CHF10.31	+14.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK947	$8.32 CHF6.86	+7.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK862	$7.69 CHF6.34	+8.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,340	$12.88 CHF10.63	+17.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK183	$1.39 CHF1.15	-7.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$0.71 CHF0.58	-44.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK178	$1.07 CHF0.88	-26.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK357	$2.72 CHF2.25	-7.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK216	$0.76 CHF0.63	-57.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$0.96 CHF0.79	+26.5%
Average			-12.9%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.2% more for transportation

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK946	$8.47 CHF6.99	+9.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,545	$127.20 CHF104.95	+34.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$34,679.10 CHF28,612.96	-31.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,563	$44.04 CHF36.34	+50.5%
Average			+3.2%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.6% less for housing

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,474	$53.80 CHF44.39	-37.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK307K	$1,754.95 CHF1,447.97	-30.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK247K	$1,684.46 CHF1,389.81	-17.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,943	$237.28 CHF195.77	+223.1%
Average			-6.6%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of housing

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pay 54.1% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$2,277.94 CHF1,879.48	+92.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$31,937.17 CHF26,350.66	+23.5%
Average			+54.1%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,692	$9.00 CHF7.43	-35.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK821	$6.00 CHF4.95	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,692	$10.80 CHF8.91	-22.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,209	$79.33 CHF65.45	-20.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,384	$30.00 CHF24.75	+53.3%
Average			-8.3%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.3% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	St. Gallen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,147	$144.00 CHF118.81	-3.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK8,012	$64.00 CHF52.80	-2.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,145	$144.00 CHF118.81	-20.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,300	$180.00 CHF148.51	-27.7%
Average			-14.3%

Reykjavik vs. St. Gallen - 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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