Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reykjavik vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 12.3% cheaper than Zurich.

Restaurants: pay 24.6% less in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 1.2% less in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 0.1% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 14.7% less in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 60.8% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 13.0% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.6% less for restaurants

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.30 CHF24.18	$27.48 ISK3,361	-12.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.28 CHF16.44	$22.76 ISK2,784	+6.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$6.01 CHF4.65	$3.34 ISK408	-44.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$5.24 CHF4.04	$2.70 ISK330	-48.5%
Average			-24.6%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.2% less for groceries

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$3.30 CHF2.55	$4.63 ISK567	+40.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.81 CHF11.44	$9.44 ISK1,154	-36.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.35 CHF6.46	$7.63 ISK933	-8.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.29 CHF5.63	$6.50 ISK795	-10.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.64 CHF11.31	$11.29 ISK1,381	-22.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 CHF1.44	$1.59 ISK195	-14.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.34 CHF1.04	$1.17 ISK143	-12.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 CHF1.13	$1.49 ISK182	+1.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 CHF1.90	$2.54 ISK310	+3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 CHF0.94	$1.70 ISK208	+38.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 CHF0.80	$1.13 ISK138	+9.1%
Average			-1.2%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.1% more for transportation

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.63 CHF6.67	$9.66 ISK1,181	+11.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$108.91 CHF84.15	$88.58 ISK10,835	-18.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,061.59 CHF31,725.87	$50,771.00 ISK6M	+23.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$33.55 CHF25.92	$28.07 ISK3,433	-16.3%
Average			+0.1%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.7% less for housing

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.74 CHF46.16	$81.97 ISK10,026	+37.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,666.50 CHF2,060.25	$2,259.48 ISK276K	-15.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,285.53 CHF1,765.89	$2,034.90 ISK249K	-11.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$200.77 CHF155.12	$60.87 ISK7,445	-69.7%
Average			-14.7%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 60.8% less for childcare

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,558.15 CHF2,749.17	$327.78 ISK40,091	-90.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$44,295.61 CHF34,224.60	$30,711.08 ISK4M	-30.7%
Average			-60.8%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.02 CHF7.74	$13.12 ISK1,605	+31.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.91 CHF5.34	$6.17 ISK755	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.27 CHF8.71	$13.94 ISK1,704	+23.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.77 CHF68.59	$87.35 ISK10,684	-1.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$25.04 CHF19.35	$17.18 ISK2,102	-31.4%
Average			+2.2%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.0% more for clothing

	Zurich	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$137.88 CHF106.53	$145.10 ISK17,747	+5.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.35 CHF45.85	$63.97 ISK7,824	+7.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$159.90 CHF123.54	$193.43 ISK23,658	+21.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$210.59 CHF162.71	$248.79 ISK30,430	+18.1%
Average			+13.0%

Zurich vs. Reykjavik - 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: February 2026

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