Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reykjavik vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 38.3% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 88.0% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 91.0% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 20.1% less in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 60.9% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.7% more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 55.2% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$20.00 ISK2,796	+83.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$18.02 ISK2,519	+89.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 AED4.78	$3.15 ISK441	+142.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.11 AED4.08	$2.19 ISK305	+96.7%
Average			+102.9%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 88.0% more for groceries

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$1.48 AED5.43	$3.61 ISK505	+144.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.37 AED16.07	$7.76 ISK1,084	+77.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.78 AED24.89	$6.40 ISK895	-5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.23 AED11.86	$5.76 ISK805	+78.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.81 AED14.00	$9.45 ISK1,321	+147.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 AED4.06	$1.40 ISK196	+26.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$1.01 ISK141	+21.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 AED3.17	$1.22 ISK170	+41.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 AED2.54	$2.22 ISK311	+222.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.92	$1.43 ISK201	+175.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.47	$0.93 ISK131	+39.1%
Average			+88.0%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 91.0% more for transportation

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.16 AED11.59	$8.50 ISK1,188	+169.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.68 AED300.00	$74.95 ISK10,477	-8.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,487.61 AED123,000.33	$42,450.45 ISK5,933,724	+26.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.71 AED32.00	$24.05 ISK3,362	+176.1%
Average			+91.0%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.1% less for housing

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.47 AED372.72	$69.87 ISK9,766	-31.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,224.54 AED8,170.77	$1,971.17 ISK275,530	-11.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,400.70 AED5,144.78	$1,803.44 ISK252,085	+28.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.54 AED596.99	$53.95 ISK7,542	-66.8%
Average			-20.1%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 60.9% less for childcare

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$775.09 AED2,846.92	$252.14 ISK35,244	-67.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,081.61 AED48,048.90	$5,993.99 ISK837,840	-54.2%
Average			-60.9%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.25 AED45.00	$10.81 ISK1,511	-11.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.02 AED22.10	$5.31 ISK742	-11.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.53 AED24.00	$12.25 ISK1,712	+87.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$81.24 AED298.40	$69.95 ISK9,777	-13.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$14.77 ISK2,065	+8.5%
Average			+11.7%

Dubai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.2% more for clothing

	Dubai	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.51 AED229.62	$108.97 ISK15,232	+74.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.33 AED206.90	$49.72 ISK6,950	-11.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.15 AED364.17	$151.85 ISK21,226	+53.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.67 AED347.73	$194.16 ISK27,139	+105.1%
Average			+55.2%

Dubai 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: January 2025

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