Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iceland vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 11.1% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.1% less in Iceland
Groceries: pay 4.8% less in Iceland
Transportation: pay 10.2% less in Iceland
Housing: pay 9.8% more in Iceland
Childcare: pay 47.8% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.9% less in Iceland
Clothing: pay 0.7% less in Iceland

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

Iceland vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of Switzerland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.1% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$32.37 CHF25.75	$26.52 ISK3,332	-18.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.82 CHF14.97	$21.32 ISK2,678	+13.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.26 CHF4.19	$3.11 ISK391	-40.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.76 CHF3.79	$2.72 ISK342	-42.9%
Average			-22.1%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.8% less for groceries

	Switzerland	Iceland
Bread 1 loaf	$3.73 CHF2.96	$3.80 ISK478	+2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.66 CHF11.67	$9.44 ISK1,186	-35.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.19 CHF6.52	$7.78 ISK977	-5.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.43 CHF5.91	$6.71 ISK843	-9.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.43 CHF11.48	$11.22 ISK1,409	-22.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.69 CHF1.35	$1.50 ISK188	-11.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.88	$1.15 ISK144	+3.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.35 CHF1.07	$1.41 ISK178	+5.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.94 CHF2.34	$2.34 ISK294	-20.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.93	$1.65 ISK207	+41.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.88	$1.09 ISK137	-0.7%
Average			-4.8%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.2% less for transportation

	Switzerland	Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.41 CHF6.69	$9.65 ISK1,213	+14.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$119.36 CHF94.96	$79.56 ISK9,995	-33.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,637.10 CHF32,329.25	$49,144.25 ISK6,173,992	+20.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$45.06 CHF35.84	$25.55 ISK3,210	-43.3%
Average			-10.2%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.8% more for housing

	Switzerland	Iceland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.20 CHF47.10	$95.65 ISK12,016	+61.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,797.02 CHF1,429.63	$2,289.17 ISK287,588	+27.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,562.03 CHF1,242.68	$1,830.04 ISK229,909	+17.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$197.97 CHF157.50	$65.15 ISK8,185	-67.1%
Average			+9.8%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.8% less for childcare

	Switzerland	Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,700.86 CHF2,148.70	$334.67 ISK42,044	-87.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,359.10 CHF26,539.17	$30,711.08 ISK3,858,233	-7.9%
Average			-47.8%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.73 CHF6.94	$11.14 ISK1,400	+27.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.04 CHF4.81	$5.62 ISK707	-6.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.28 CHF8.98	$13.90 ISK1,746	+23.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.44 CHF80.70	$78.17 ISK9,821	-22.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.10 CHF19.17	$16.75 ISK2,105	-30.5%
Average			-1.9%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.7% less for clothing

	Switzerland	Iceland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$142.30 CHF113.21	$130.91 ISK16,446	-8.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.55 CHF56.12	$61.83 ISK7,768	-12.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$162.86 CHF129.57	$163.81 ISK20,580	+0.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$202.63 CHF161.21	$237.31 ISK29,813	+17.1%
Average			-0.7%

Switzerland vs. Iceland - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Switzerland vs.

United States

Switzerland vs.

Ireland

Switzerland vs.

Vietnam

Switzerland vs.

Austria

Switzerland vs.

Ecuador

Switzerland vs.

Peru

Switzerland vs.

Canada

Switzerland vs.

Russia

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Bern vs. Reykjavik

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Switzerland

Add prices for Iceland

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Iceland or Switzerland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.