Cost of living comparison

compared to

Reykjavik vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 2.5 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 2.5 times more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 3.3 times more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 46.7% more in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.4 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 97.5% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR167.75	$20.00 ISK2,772	+122.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR89.19	$18.02 ISK2,498	+277.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.85	$3.15 ISK437	+230.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.85	$2.19 ISK303	+194.9%
Average			+206.5%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.52	$3.61 ISK500	+264.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR68.71	$7.76 ISK1,075	+111.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR78.50	$6.40 ISK888	+52.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR41.64	$5.76 ISK798	+158.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.92	$9.45 ISK1,310	+365.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.66	$1.40 ISK194	+107.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.54	$1.01 ISK140	+63.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR12.00	$1.22 ISK169	+89.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR13.06	$2.22 ISK308	+218.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.35	$1.43 ISK199	+159.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.38	$0.93 ISK129	+53.4%
Average			+149.4%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR93.27	$8.50 ISK1,178	+70.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR978.04	$74.95 ISK10,390	+43.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR385,297.34	$42,450.45 ISK5,884,481	+106.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR159.84	$24.05 ISK3,334	+181.3%
Average			+100.2%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3 times more for housing

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR773.47	$69.87 ISK9,685	+68.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR7,152.49	$1,971.17 ISK273,244	+415.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR6,101.62	$1,803.44 ISK249,993	+452.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,503.18	$53.95 ISK7,479	-32.9%
Average			+226.0%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 46.7% more for childcare

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,255.40	$252.14 ISK34,952	+44.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR75,413.67	$5,993.99 ISK830,887	+48.6%
Average			+46.7%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR39.41	$10.81 ISK1,499	+412.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR35.20	$5.31 ISK735	+181.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR54.30	$12.25 ISK1,697	+321.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR551.56	$69.95 ISK9,696	+137.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR123.79	$14.77 ISK2,048	+123.1%
Average			+235.3%

South Africa vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 97.5% more for clothing

	South Africa	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR892.12	$108.97 ISK15,106	+128.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR599.40	$49.72 ISK6,892	+55.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,689.97	$151.85 ISK21,050	+68.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,521.29	$194.16 ISK26,914	+138.6%
Average			+97.5%

South Africa 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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