Cost of living comparison

Bern, Switzerland

compared to

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Bern Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 16.2% cheaper than Bern.

Restaurants: pay 25.0% less in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 6.5% less in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 10.1% less in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 22.9% more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 87.1% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.3% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 13.0% less in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. Bern Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.0% less for restaurants

	Bern	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.23 CHF20.84	$20.00 ISK2,419	-23.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$17.11 CHF13.59	$18.02 ISK2,179	+5.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.65 CHF3.69	$3.15 ISK381	-32.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.30 CHF3.42	$2.19 ISK264	-49.2%
Average			-25.0%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.5% less for groceries

	Bern	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$3.23 CHF2.57	$3.61 ISK437	+11.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.69 CHF10.87	$7.76 ISK938	-43.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.62 CHF6.05	$6.40 ISK774	-15.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.84 CHF4.64	$5.76 ISK696	-1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$13.31 CHF10.57	$9.45 ISK1,142	-29.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 CHF1.17	$1.40 ISK170	-5.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 CHF0.86	$1.01 ISK122	-6.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.92	$1.22 ISK147	+5.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.71 CHF2.15	$2.22 ISK269	-17.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.06 CHF0.84	$1.43 ISK173	+35.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 CHF0.78	$0.93 ISK113	-4.7%
Average			-6.5%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.1% less for transportation

	Bern	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.86 CHF6.24	$8.50 ISK1,028	+8.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$91.24 CHF72.48	$74.95 ISK9,064	-17.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,408.50 CHF29,718.51	$42,450.45 ISK5,133,533	+13.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$43.00 CHF34.16	$24.05 ISK2,908	-44.1%
Average			-10.1%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% more for housing

	Bern	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.66 CHF38.66	$69.87 ISK8,449	+43.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,382.42 CHF1,098.24	$1,971.17 ISK238,374	+42.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$978.93 CHF777.69	$1,803.44 ISK218,090	+84.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$253.38 CHF201.29	$53.95 ISK6,525	-78.7%
Average			+22.9%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 87.1% less for childcare

	Bern	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,022.33 CHF2,401.04	$252.14 ISK30,491	-91.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$34,215.09 CHF27,181.57	$5,993.99 ISK724,854	-82.5%
Average			-87.1%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Bern	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.41 CHF5.89	$10.81 ISK1,307	+45.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.39 CHF4.28	$5.31 ISK642	-1.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.26 CHF8.15	$12.25 ISK1,481	+19.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.17 CHF56.54	$69.95 ISK8,459	-1.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$22.81 CHF18.12	$14.77 ISK1,787	-35.2%
Average			+5.3%

Bern vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.0% less for clothing

	Bern	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$142.37 CHF113.11	$108.97 ISK13,178	-23.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.68 CHF50.59	$49.72 ISK6,013	-21.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$167.27 CHF132.89	$151.85 ISK18,364	-9.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$189.00 CHF150.15	$194.16 ISK23,480	+2.7%
Average			-13.0%

Bern 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: July 2025

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