Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paramaribo and Reykjavik

For one person, living is cheaper in Paramaribo: $984 a month against $4,037 in Reykjavik, rent and utilities included – about $36,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
Learn more

Paramaribo Living Index
193

Cost of Living Index in Reykjavik
Learn more

Reykjavik Living Index

Jump to prices

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$984

/mo nomad

Reykjavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$4,037

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Paramaribo and in Reykjavik

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Paramaribo and in Reykjavik actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $984 per month in Paramaribo vs $4,037 in Reykjavik, rent included.

Paramaribo $984
Reykjavik $4,037

A couple spends around $1,657 per month in Paramaribo vs $5,666 in Reykjavik, rent included.

Paramaribo $1,657
Reykjavik $5,666

A family of three spends $2,331 per month in Paramaribo vs $7,295 in Reykjavik, rent included.

Paramaribo $2,331
Reykjavik $7,295

Paramaribo is about 76% cheaper than Reykjavik, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Paramaribo sits 27% below the global median, while Reykjavik is 201% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.44 SRD 504

$30.59 ISK 3,730

-56.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.4 SRD 1,964

$136 ISK 16.5K

-61.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.99 SRD 412

$27.08 ISK 3,302

-59.42%

Cappuccino

$2.88 SRD 108

$6.72 ISK 819

-57.14%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 SRD 52.9

$3.27 ISK 399

-56.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 SRD 32.91

$3.16 ISK 386

-72.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 SRD 99.7

$13.91 ISK 1,696

-80.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 SRD 146

$12.06 ISK 1,470

-67.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 SRD 68.7

$2.04 ISK 248

-10.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 SRD 52.2

$4.32 ISK 527

-67.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 SRD 60.3

$3.67 ISK 447

-56.13%

Eggs

$2.98 SRD 112

$7.02 ISK 856

-57.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.84 SRD 444

$22.01 ISK 2,684

-46.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.17 SRD 231

$24.70 ISK 3,012

-75.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.18 SRD 381

$42.66 ISK 5,202

-76.14%

Apples (1kg)

$4.77 SRD 179

$3.37 ISK 412

41.54%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 SRD 116

$2.85 ISK 347

9.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.73 SRD 140

$3.17 ISK 387

17.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.89 SRD 221

$6.39 ISK 779

-7.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 SRD 49.77

$4.01 ISK 489

-66.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 SRD 75.6

$1.64 ISK 200

23.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 SRD 55.6

$3.80 ISK 463

-61.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SRD 56.4

$1.74 ISK 212

-13.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.58 SRD 209

$13.80 ISK 1,682

-59.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.80 SRD 292

$23.38 ISK 2,851

-66.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 SRD 75.0

$3.53 ISK 430

-43.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.78 SRD 142

$3.45 ISK 420

9.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 SRD 28.90

$5.77 ISK 704

-86.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 ISK 11.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.13 SRD 79.8

$6.63 ISK 808

-67.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 SRD 57.8

$2.79 ISK 341

-44.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.17 SRD 269

$81.4 ISK 9,923

-91.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 SRD 44.50

$2.11 ISK 257

-43.60%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.6K SRD 921.2K

$50.8K ISK 6.2M

-51.62%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.3K SRD 948.6K

$52.7K ISK 6.4M

-52.00%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$37.31 SRD 1,398

$88.7 ISK 10.8K

-57.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$25.70 SRD 963

$31.53 ISK 3,845

-18.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.67 SRD 1,149

$84.6 ISK 10.3K

-63.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.84 SRD 518

$100 ISK 12.2K

-86.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 SRD 761

$48.20 ISK 5,877

-57.84%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 SRD 186

$19.87 ISK 2,424

-75.04%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$62.3 SRD 2,335

$1,277 ISK 155.8K

-95.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,739 SRD 65.2K

$31.0K ISK 3.8M

-94.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.84 SRD 1,268

$161 ISK 19.6K

-78.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.87 SRD 782

$64.9 ISK 7,914

-67.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 SRD 2,525

$183 ISK 22.3K

-63.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 SRD 3,903

$254 ISK 31.0K

-58.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$487 SRD 18.3K

$2,499 ISK 304.8K

-80.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$263 SRD 9,855

$2,000 ISK 243.9K

-86.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 SRD 35.6K

$3,452 ISK 421.0K

-72.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$508 SRD 19.0K

$2,742 ISK 334.4K

-81.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$462 SRD 17.3K

$8,001 ISK 975.7K

-94.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$400 SRD 15.0K

$6,249 ISK 762.1K

-93.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$279 SRD 10.5K

$4,691 ISK 572.0K

-94.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.81

81.61%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Paramaribo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Reykjavik: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Paramaribo

$300 30%

Reykjavik

$625 15.9% 109% $325

Accommodation & Living

Paramaribo

$263 26.3%

Reykjavik

$2K 50.9% 661% $1.7K

Eating Out

Paramaribo

$205 20.5%

Reykjavik

$526 13.4% 156% $321

Clothing & Footwear

Paramaribo

$102 10.2%

Reykjavik

$298 7.6% 193% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paramaribo

$94 9.4%

Reykjavik

$205 5.2% 119% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Paramaribo

$24 2.4%

Reykjavik

$140 3.6% 490% $116

Getting Around

Paramaribo

$13 * 1.3%

Reykjavik

$139 3.5% 975% $126

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $487 in Paramaribo versus $2,499 in Reykjavik. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1579% higher in Reykjavik, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52.0 in Paramaribo versus $136 in Reykjavik. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $625 – making Paramaribo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🇮🇸 Reykjavik

🕒 Local time

05:15 5:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

3 h ahead of Paramaribo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

242,946 Capital

136,894 Capital

💱 Currency

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 SRD = 2.67 USD

100 SRD = 2.38 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.2 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, USD, EUR to SRD – Surinamese Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇷 Surinamese Dollar ($)

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 37.47 SRD (100 SRD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 42.03 SRD (100 SRD = 2.38 EUR).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 122 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.2 USD). 1 EUR = 137 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.31 EUR).

USD to SRD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Paramaribo Reykjavik 7,000 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Paramaribo
Reykjavik

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Paramaribo vs Reykjavik: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Reykjavik costs about 310% more than Paramaribo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,476 per month in Paramaribo and $6,055 in Reykjavik. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Paramaribo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $984 in Paramaribo and $4,037 in Reykjavik. That's a gap of about 310%.

Kindergarten costs $62.3 per month in Paramaribo and $1,277 in Reykjavik. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Paramaribo, where all-in costs run around $984, than in Reykjavik at $4,037. In Paramaribo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Reykjavik it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Paramaribo costs $984 versus $4,037 in Reykjavik. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Paramaribo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Reykjavik makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.