Cost of living comparison

Reykjavik, Iceland

compared to

Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 23.3% more expensive than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 27.9% less in Ottawa
Groceries: pay 4.7% less in Ottawa
Transportation: pay 23.0% less in Ottawa
Housing: pay 14.5% more in Ottawa
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.4% less in Ottawa
Clothing: pay 34.2% less in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.9% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,569	$17.96 CA$24.90	-10.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,314	$10.78 CA$14.94	-40.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK405	$2.17 CA$3.01	-31.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK281	$1.53 CA$2.12	-30.0%
Average			-27.9%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.7% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK464	$2.65 CA$3.67	-26.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK996	$6.28 CA$8.71	-19.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK822	$9.92 CA$13.76	+54.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK739	$3.31 CA$4.60	-42.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,213	$5.89 CA$8.16	-37.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK180	$1.93 CA$2.68	+37.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK130	$0.64 CA$0.88	-36.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK156	$1.44 CA$2.00	+18.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK286	$1.69 CA$2.34	-24.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK184	$1.20 CA$1.67	-16.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK120	$1.31 CA$1.81	+39.8%
Average			-4.7%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.0% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,092	$4.15 CA$5.75	-51.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK9,626	$92.50 CA$128.24	+23.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,451,803	$24,412.64 CA$33,844.46	-42.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK3,089	$18.80 CA$26.06	-21.8%
Average			-23.0%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.5% more for housing

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK8,973	$50.21 CA$69.61	-28.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK253,152	$1,425.51 CA$1,976.26	-27.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK231,611	$1,269.57 CA$1,760.06	-29.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK6,929	$131.33 CA$182.07	+143.4%
Average			+14.5%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK32,382	$999.72 CA$1,385.96	+296.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK769,793	$19,936.07 CA$27,638.37	+232.6%
Average			+264.6%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,388	$5.75 CA$7.97	-46.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK681	$3.71 CA$5.14	-30.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,573	$12.93 CA$17.93	+5.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK8,983	$46.27 CA$64.15	-33.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK1,897	$10.78 CA$14.94	-27.1%
Average			-26.4%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.2% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK13,995	$57.20 CA$79.29	-47.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,386	$44.39 CA$61.54	-10.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK19,502	$97.78 CA$135.55	-35.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK24,935	$110.86 CA$153.69	-42.9%
Average			-34.2%

Reykjavik vs. Ottawa - 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: April 2025

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