Cost of living comparison

Iceland

compared to

South Africa vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 49.2% cheaper than Iceland overall.

Restaurants: pay 63.7% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 50.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 44.4% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 40.4% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 32.7% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 49.5% less in South Africa

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, transportation, and housing are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Iceland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.7% less for restaurants

	Iceland	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.40 ISK2,608	$8.97 ZAR163.29	-53.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.94 ISK2,278	$4.77 ZAR86.82	-71.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.81 ISK378	$0.95 ZAR17.37	-66.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 ISK272	$0.74 ZAR13.49	-63.3%
Average			-63.7%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.1% less for groceries

	Iceland	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 ISK397	$0.99 ZAR18.03	-66.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.27 ISK977	$3.67 ZAR66.88	-49.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.01 ISK808	$4.20 ZAR76.41	-30.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.42 ISK729	$2.23 ZAR40.53	-58.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.51 ISK1,144	$2.03 ZAR36.91	-76.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK165	$0.68 ZAR12.32	-44.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 ISK138	$0.62 ZAR11.23	-39.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK157	$0.64 ZAR11.68	-45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 ISK252	$0.70 ZAR12.71	-62.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 ISK166	$0.55 ZAR10.08	-55.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 ISK106	$0.61 ZAR11.08	-22.4%
Average			-50.1%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.4% less for transportation

	Iceland	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.36 ISK1,124	$4.99 ZAR90.79	-40.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$71.28 ISK9,584	$52.31 ZAR952.04	-26.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,660.66 ISK5,467,232	$20,607.77 ZAR375,053.73	-49.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.04 ISK2,963	$8.55 ZAR155.59	-61.2%
Average			-44.4%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.4% less for housing

	Iceland	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.17 ISK9,705	$41.37 ZAR752.91	-42.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,838.04 ISK247,143	$382.55 ZAR6,962.34	-79.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,497.77 ISK201,390	$326.35 ZAR5,939.40	-78.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.01 ISK7,801	$80.40 ZAR1,463.22	+38.6%
Average			-40.4%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 32.7% less for childcare

	Iceland	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.16 ISK34,713	$174.12 ZAR3,168.85	-32.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK805,952	$4,033.53 ZAR73,408.70	-32.7%
Average			-32.7%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Iceland	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.19 ISK1,235	$2.11 ZAR38.36	-77.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.65 ISK625	$1.88 ZAR34.27	-59.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.76 ISK1,581	$2.90 ZAR52.86	-75.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.46 ISK8,264	$29.50 ZAR536.90	-52.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.35 ISK1,929	$6.62 ZAR120.50	-53.9%
Average			-63.6%

Iceland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.5% less for clothing

	Iceland	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$111.23 ISK14,956	$47.72 ZAR868.40	-57.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.69 ISK8,026	$32.06 ZAR583.46	-46.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$148.00 ISK19,900	$90.39 ZAR1,645.04	-38.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$184.49 ISK24,807	$81.37 ZAR1,480.85	-55.9%
Average			-49.5%

Iceland vs. South Africa - 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: March 2025

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