Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

Switzerland

Zurich vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Zurich is 14.1% more expensive than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 1.8% more in Zurich
Groceries: pay 2.1% more in Zurich
Transportation: pay 4.0% more in Zurich
Housing: pay 29.2% more in Zurich
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Zurich
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.0% less in Zurich
Clothing: pay 6.2% less in Zurich

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, groceries, and restaurants in Zurich are more expensive than in Reykjavik. Expenses including clothing and entertainment and sports are lower in Zurich. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Zurich.

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Zurich vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.8% more for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.06 ISK3,763	$34.80 CHF28.74	+12.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$26.97 ISK3,268	$18.00 CHF14.87	-33.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.31 ISK402	$5.76 CHF4.76	+73.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.11 ISK376	$5.27 CHF4.35	+69.7%
Average			+1.8%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1% more for groceries

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Bread 1 loaf	$4.19 ISK508	$3.88 CHF3.20	-7.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.93 ISK1,324	$13.44 CHF11.10	+23.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 ISK942	$8.14 CHF6.73	+4.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.08 ISK858	$8.45 CHF6.98	+19.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.00 ISK1,333	$12.65 CHF10.45	+15.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 ISK182	$1.86 CHF1.54	+23.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 ISK154	$1.25 CHF1.03	-1.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 ISK177	$1.56 CHF1.29	+7.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.93 ISK355	$2.06 CHF1.70	-29.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ISK215	$1.14 CHF0.94	-35.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.76 ISK92	$0.99 CHF0.82	+30.8%
Average			+2.1%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% more for transportation

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.76 ISK941	$8.85 CHF7.31	+14.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.80 ISK11,488	$105.60 CHF87.22	+11.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,588.43 ISK6M	$39,298.98 CHF32,458.28	-22.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.26 ISK3,545	$44.58 CHF36.82	+52.4%
Average			+4.0%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.2% more for housing

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.01 ISK10,422	$55.12 CHF45.52	-35.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,522.88 ISK306K	$2,960.13 CHF2,444.87	+17.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,032.25 ISK246K	$2,334.69 CHF1,928.29	+14.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.44 ISK8,899	$211.70 CHF174.85	+188.3%
Average			+29.2%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,185.23 ISK144K	$3,558.83 CHF2,939.35	+200.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,853.51 ISK3M	$42,145.57 CHF34,809.38	+63.0%
Average			+121.2%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.89 ISK1,684	$9.60 CHF7.93	-30.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.74 ISK817	$6.99 CHF5.77	+3.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.89 ISK1,684	$10.80 CHF8.92	-22.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.25 ISK12,148	$90.03 CHF74.36	-10.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.57 ISK2,372	$24.60 CHF20.32	+25.7%
Average			-6.0%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.2% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Zurich
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$149.01 ISK18,058	$141.16 CHF116.59	-5.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.79 ISK7,972	$58.43 CHF48.26	-11.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$181.84 ISK22,035	$163.33 CHF134.90	-10.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.81 ISK30,151	$255.33 CHF210.88	+2.6%
Average			-6.2%

Reykjavik vs. Zurich - 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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