Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 34.3% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 70.8% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 52.0% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 49.9% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 9.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 10.9% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.3% less in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 39.5% less in United Arab Emirates

Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.8% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,517	$7.91 AED29.06	-71.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,913	$8.65 AED31.75	-62.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK427	$1.04 AED3.83	-68.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK345	$0.50 AED1.85	-81.3%
Average			-70.8%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.0% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK593	$1.47 AED5.39	-68.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$5.36 AED19.68	-43.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK976	$6.96 AED25.56	-8.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK832	$2.81 AED10.34	-56.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,445	$3.68 AED13.51	-67.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK204	$0.98 AED3.59	-38.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK150	$0.75 AED2.75	-36.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK190	$0.73 AED2.69	-50.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK325	$0.59 AED2.15	-76.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK217	$0.48 AED1.76	-71.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK145	$0.53 AED1.93	-53.4%
Average			-52.0%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.9% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,236	$2.91 AED10.69	-69.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,337	$53.10 AED195.00	-40.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	-19.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,592	$8.50 AED31.21	-69.7%
Average			-49.9%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.4% more for housing

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,490	$101.41 AED372.42	+23.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	-36.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	$990.79 AED3,638.67	-51.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,791	$122.67 AED450.49	+101.5%
Average			+9.4%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 10.9% less for childcare

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,949	$497.28 AED1,826.25	+51.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	-73.4%
Average			-10.9%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,680	$10.43 AED38.31	-20.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK790	$4.99 AED18.32	-19.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,783	$6.23 AED22.88	-55.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,179	$75.55 AED277.45	-13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,199	$13.19 AED48.44	-23.2%
Average			-26.3%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.5% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,569	$75.04 AED275.58	-48.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,187	$59.50 AED218.51	-7.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,755	$105.66 AED388.03	-45.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,840	$106.53 AED391.23	-57.2%
Average			-39.5%

Reykjavik vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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