Cost of living comparison

Shanghai, China

compared to

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 2.6 times more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 5.3 times more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 79.1% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 75.6% more in Reykjavik

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Reykjavik are more expensive than in Shanghai. Notably, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Reykjavik.

Reykjavik vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.3 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.06	$20.00 ISK2,545	+379.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 CN¥39.60	$18.02 ISK2,293	+227.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 CN¥3.70	$3.15 ISK401	+513.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 CN¥2.27	$2.19 ISK278	+592.8%
Average			+428.3%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 CN¥14.44	$3.61 ISK459	+80.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.94 CN¥57.17	$7.76 ISK987	-2.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.61 CN¥61.96	$6.40 ISK815	-25.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 CN¥12.14	$5.76 ISK733	+241.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.52 CN¥10.93	$9.45 ISK1,202	+522.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥7.40	$1.40 ISK178	+36.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CN¥5.29	$1.01 ISK128	+37.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.64	$1.22 ISK155	+31.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 CN¥5.34	$2.22 ISK283	+199.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥3.08	$1.43 ISK183	+235.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.44	$0.93 ISK119	+95.6%
Average			+132.0%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 CN¥31.67	$8.50 ISK1,082	+93.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.79 CN¥250.46	$74.95 ISK9,538	+115.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,844.35 CN¥150,075.15	$42,450.45 ISK5,401,820	+103.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.57 CN¥40.07	$24.05 ISK3,060	+332.1%
Average			+161.2%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.44 CN¥118.39	$69.87 ISK8,890	+324.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,017.22 CN¥7,323.77	$1,971.17 ISK250,832	+93.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$526.38 CN¥3,789.81	$1,803.44 ISK229,488	+242.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.67 CN¥307.18	$53.95 ISK6,866	+26.5%
Average			+171.9%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 79.1% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,147.00 CN¥8,258.20	$252.14 ISK32,085	-78.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,296.28 CN¥218,127.18	$5,993.99 ISK762,736	-80.2%
Average			-79.1%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.39 CN¥10.02	$10.81 ISK1,376	+676.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 CN¥25.40	$5.31 ISK675	+50.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.05	$12.25 ISK1,558	+252.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.86 CN¥402.21	$69.95 ISK8,901	+25.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.11	$14.77 ISK1,880	+77.0%
Average			+216.3%

Shanghai vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 75.6% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.36 CN¥427.39	$108.97 ISK13,867	+83.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.88 CN¥279.90	$49.72 ISK6,327	+27.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.91 CN¥560.96	$151.85 ISK19,323	+94.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.07 CN¥713.27	$194.16 ISK24,707	+96.0%
Average			+75.6%

Shanghai 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: June 2025

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