Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iceland vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary

Iceland is 37.6% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.

Restaurants
pay 63.8% more in Iceland
Groceries
pay 65.6% more in Iceland
Transportation
pay 6.2% more in Iceland
Housing
pay 36.6% more in Iceland
Childcare
pay 20.5% less in Iceland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.1% more in Iceland
Clothing
pay 72.9% more in Iceland

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

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Iceland vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iceland instead of United Kingdom, you would:

pay 63.8% more for restaurants

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.32
£15.91
$28.88
ISK3,518
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $10.25
£7.65
$22.83
ISK2,782
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.54
£1.90
$3.25
ISK395
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pay 65.6% more for groceries

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.67
£1.25
$3.55
ISK433
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.62
£3.45
$10.11
ISK1,232
Milk (1 gallon) $6.01
£4.49
$7.79
ISK949
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pay 6.2% more for transportation

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.59
£5.66
$8.09
ISK985
Monthly public transit pass $99.20
£74.05
$80.58
ISK9,817
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,629.43
£28,087.96
$48,967.53
ISK6M
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pay 36.6% more for housing

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $41.42
£30.92
$98.24
ISK11,969
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,299.59
£970.06
$2,335.24
ISK285K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,069.01
£797.95
$1,824.40
ISK222K
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pay 20.5% less for childcare

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,589.10
£1,186.16
$833.66
ISK102K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,025.39
£17,186.98
$27,752.37
ISK3M
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pay 35.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.50
£4.85
$11.37
ISK1,386
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.66
£3.48
$5.90
ISK718
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $22.34
£16.68
$13.85
ISK1,688
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pay 72.9% more for clothing

 
United Kingdom
Iceland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $85.37
£63.72
$134.47
ISK16,382
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $44.93
£33.54
$63.25
ISK7,705
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $95.35
£71.17
$159.03
ISK19,374
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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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Compare further: United Kingdom vs. Iceland

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Iceland?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics
Make 70.7% more money in Iceland
→
Size Comparison · See true size
United Kingdom is about 2.4 times bigger than Iceland.
→
Moving from United Kingdom to Iceland · OECD 2023
139 people moved from United Kingdom to Iceland.
→
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