Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

China is 33.9% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 82.1% less in China
Groceries: pay 52.3% less in China
Transportation: pay 64.1% less in China
Housing: pay 70.0% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.3% less in China
Clothing: pay 51.3% less in China

Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in China. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in China.

China vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 82.1% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,715	$2.85 CN¥20.65	-85.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,446	$5.07 CN¥36.65	-71.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK428	$0.49 CN¥3.54	-84.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK297	$0.30 CN¥2.17	-86.3%
Average			-82.1%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.3% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	China
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK490	$1.59 CN¥11.51	-55.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK1,053	$5.85 CN¥42.32	-24.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK869	$6.86 CN¥49.63	+7.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK781	$1.60 CN¥11.55	-72.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,282	$1.54 CN¥11.15	-83.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK190	$0.76 CN¥5.52	-45.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK137	$0.57 CN¥4.14	-43.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK165	$0.65 CN¥4.73	-46.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK302	$0.52 CN¥3.79	-76.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK195	$0.32 CN¥2.32	-77.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK127	$0.40 CN¥2.90	-57.1%
Average			-52.3%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.1% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,154	$4.44 CN¥32.15	-47.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK10,175	$22.47 CN¥162.55	-70.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,762,433	$19,071.53 CN¥137,968.24	-55.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK3,265	$3.97 CN¥28.75	-83.5%
Average			-64.1%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.0% less for housing

	Reykjavik	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK9,484	$11.70 CN¥84.60	-83.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK267,576	$328.33 CN¥2,375.23	-83.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK244,808	$205.78 CN¥1,488.66	-88.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK7,324	$40.46 CN¥292.69	-25.0%
Average			-70.0%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK34,227	$459.70 CN¥3,325.57	+82.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK813,654	$18,318.08 CN¥132,517.57	+205.6%
Average			+143.9%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,468	$1.09 CN¥7.89	-89.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK720	$3.07 CN¥22.19	-42.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,662	$3.23 CN¥23.39	-73.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK9,495	$41.41 CN¥299.56	-40.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK2,006	$5.93 CN¥42.86	-59.9%
Average			-61.3%

Reykjavik vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.3% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK14,792	$48.23 CN¥348.87	-55.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,749	$31.67 CN¥229.12	-36.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK20,613	$72.53 CN¥524.67	-52.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK26,356	$75.53 CN¥546.44	-61.1%
Average			-51.3%

Reykjavik vs. China - 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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