Iceland vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 55.5% more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 95.1% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 94.3% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 2.3% more in Iceland
Childcare
pay 37.9% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.5% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 53.8% more in Iceland

The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and housing in Iceland are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Notably, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Iceland.

Iceland vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.01
AED29.44
$19.40
ISK2,746
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.22
AED30.19
$16.94
ISK2,398
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.02
AED3.73
$2.81
ISK398

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pay 95.1% more for groceries

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
$1.26
AED4.64
$2.95
ISK418
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.08
AED18.66
$7.27
ISK1,028
Milk (1 gallon) $6.80
AED24.96
$6.01
ISK850

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pay 94.3% more for transportation

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.06
AED11.23
$8.36
ISK1,184
Monthly public transit pass $48.60
AED178.50
$71.28
ISK10,090
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $42,240.06
AED155,145.64
$40,660.66
ISK5,755,923

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pay 2.3% more for housing

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$95.75
AED351.69
$72.17
ISK10,217
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,395.59
AED5,125.92
$1,838.04
ISK260,193
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $985.52
AED3,619.78
$1,497.77
ISK212,024

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pay 37.9% less for childcare

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $507.75
AED1,864.96
$258.16
ISK36,546
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,162.28
AED29,979.65
$5,993.99
ISK848,510

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pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $10.55
AED38.75
$9.19
ISK1,301
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.03
AED18.46
$4.65
ISK658
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.23
AED22.87
$11.76
ISK1,664

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pay 53.8% more for clothing

 
United Arab Emirates
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$64.14
AED235.59
$111.23
ISK15,746
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.91
AED238.42
$59.69
ISK8,450
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$93.31
AED342.71
$148.00
ISK20,951

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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: February 2025
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