Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Reykjavik and Palmas

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $834 a month against $4,023 in Reykjavik, rent and utilities included – about $38,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

193

Cost of Living Index in Reykjavik
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Reykjavik Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
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Palmas Living Index

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Reykjavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$4,023

/mo nomad

Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$834

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Reykjavik and in Palmas

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

A single person spends $4,023 per month in Reykjavik vs $834 in Palmas, rent included.

Reykjavik $4,023
Palmas $834

A couple spends around $5,708 per month in Reykjavik vs $1,292 in Palmas, rent included.

Reykjavik $5,708
Palmas $1,292

A family of three spends $7,393 per month in Reykjavik vs $1,751 in Palmas, rent included.

Reykjavik $7,393
Palmas $1,751

Reykjavik costs about 383% more than Palmas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Reykjavik sits 197% above the global median, while Palmas is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$31.00 ISK 3,760

$3.96 R$20.06

682.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$123 ISK 14.9K

$20.09 R$102

513.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$27.21 ISK 3,300

$8.07 R$40.93

237.17%

Cappuccino

$6.90 ISK 837

$1.43 R$7.27

382.52%

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

$3.30 ISK 401

$1.82 R$9.21

81.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ISK 384

$1.12 R$5.69

182.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.84 ISK 1,678

$1.42 R$7.22

874.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.46 ISK 1,512

$3.10 R$15.70

301.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 ISK 250

$1.08 R$5.47

90.74%

White Bread (500g)

$4.11 ISK 498

$1.47 R$7.45

179.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 ISK 446

$1.24 R$6.28

196.77%

Eggs

$7.27 ISK 882

$2.67 R$13.52

172.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.79 ISK 2,643

$7.12 R$36.11

206.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$23.95 ISK 2,905

$3.12 R$15.80

667.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.43 ISK 5,025

$6.31 R$31.98

556.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 ISK 414

$2.17 R$10.98

57.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 ISK 344

$1.75 R$8.85

62.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.23 ISK 391

$1.23 R$6.25

162.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.46 ISK 783

$1.22 R$6.21

429.51%

Potato (1kg)

$4.05 ISK 491

$1.27 R$6.42

218.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ISK 202

$1.07 R$5.43

55.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.86 ISK 468

$0.77 R$3.91

401.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 ISK 223

$0.77 R$3.91

138.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.96 ISK 1,693

$2.46 R$12.48

467.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.76 ISK 2,882

$7.16 R$36.30

231.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 ISK 430

$1.32 R$6.71

168.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 ISK 418

$2.10 R$10.66

63.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.81 ISK 705

$0.73 R$3.72

695.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.3 ISK 11.6K

$43.43 R$220

119.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.72 ISK 815

$1.32 R$6.71

409.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.81 ISK 340

$0.84 R$4.28

234.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$81.3 ISK 9,866

$7.84 R$39.74

937.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 ISK 257

$1.20 R$6.08

76.67%

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

$68.9K ISK 8.4M

$23.9K R$121.4K

187.91%

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

$55.8K ISK 6.8M

$33.0K R$167.3K

69.06%

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

$95.8 ISK 11.6K

$115 R$581

-16.46%

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

$33.11 ISK 4,016

$11.64 R$59.0

184.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$87.2 ISK 10.6K

$19.99 R$101

335.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 ISK 12.3K

$23.48 R$119

330.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$50.7 ISK 6,155

$27.34 R$139

85.59%

Cinema Ticket

$19.85 ISK 2,407

$6.58 R$33.36

201.67%

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

$1,195 ISK 144.9K

$155 R$785

671.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.2K ISK 3.2M

$7,304 R$37.0K

259.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$148 ISK 18.0K

$36.91 R$187

301.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.8 ISK 8,096

$50.5 R$256

32.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$187 ISK 22.6K

$115 R$583

62.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$253 ISK 30.6K

$72.5 R$368

248.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,579 ISK 312.8K

$299 R$1,514

763.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 ISK 252.3K

$204 R$1,035

919.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,455 ISK 419.0K

$624 R$3,162

453.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,752 ISK 333.8K

$427 R$2,165

544.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,933 ISK 962.2K

$1,718 R$8,707

361.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,377 ISK 773.5K

$1,207 R$6,116

428.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,695 ISK 569.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.81

-19.91%

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

Last update for Reykjavik: October 20, 2026

Last update for Palmas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Reykjavik

$2.1K 51.7%

Palmas

$204 24.5% 90.2% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Reykjavik

$619 15.4%

Palmas

$173 20.7% 72.1% $447

Eating Out

Reykjavik

$532 13.2%

Palmas

$98 11.8% 81.6% $434

Clothing & Footwear

Reykjavik

$294 7.3%

Palmas

$124 14.8% 58% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Reykjavik

$216 5.4%

Palmas

$146 17.6% 32.3% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Reykjavik

$141 3.5%

Palmas

$37 4.4% 74% $104

Getting Around

Reykjavik

$139 3.5%

Palmas

$52 6.2% 62.7% $87

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,579 in Reykjavik versus $299 in Palmas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $123 in Reykjavik versus $20.00 in Palmas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $619 vs $173 – making Palmas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇸 Reykjavik

🇧🇷 Palmas

🕒 Local time

21:35 9:35 PM

18:35 6:35 PM

3 h behind Reykjavik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

136,894 Capital

302,692

💱 Currency

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to ISK – Icelandic Króna Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇸 Icelandic Króna (kr)

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 121 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.24 USD). 1 EUR = 136 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.33 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to ISK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Reykjavik Palmas 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Reykjavik
Palmas

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

Reykjavik vs Palmas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,023 in Reykjavik, $834 in Palmas – roughly 383% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,034 per month in Reykjavik and $1,250 in Palmas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $123 in Reykjavik and $20.00 in Palmas. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $4,023 in Reykjavik and $834 in Palmas. That's a gap of about 383%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Palmas, where all-in costs run around $834, than in Reykjavik at $4,023. In Palmas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Reykjavik it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Reykjavik has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $834 in Palmas to $4,023 in Reykjavik. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Palmas. 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.