Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Reykjavik and Paramaribo

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.

193

Cost of Living Index in Reykjavik
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Reykjavik Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index

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Reykjavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$4,037

/mo nomad

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Reykjavik and in Paramaribo

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 Paramaribo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Reykjavik $4,037
Paramaribo $984

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

Reykjavik $5,666
Paramaribo $1,657

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

Reykjavik $7,295
Paramaribo $2,331

Reykjavik costs about 310% more than Paramaribo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.59 ISK 3,730

$13.44 SRD 504

127.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$136 ISK 16.5K

$52.4 SRD 1,964

158.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$27.08 ISK 3,302

$10.99 SRD 412

146.41%

Cappuccino

$6.72 ISK 819

$2.88 SRD 108

133.33%

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

$3.27 ISK 399

$1.41 SRD 52.9

131.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ISK 386

$0.88 SRD 32.91

259.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.91 ISK 1,696

$2.66 SRD 99.7

422.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.06 ISK 1,470

$3.89 SRD 146

210.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 ISK 248

$1.83 SRD 68.7

11.48%

White Bread (500g)

$4.32 ISK 527

$1.39 SRD 52.2

210.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 ISK 447

$1.61 SRD 60.3

127.95%

Eggs

$7.02 ISK 856

$2.98 SRD 112

135.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.01 ISK 2,684

$11.84 SRD 444

85.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$24.70 ISK 3,012

$6.17 SRD 231

300.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.66 ISK 5,202

$10.18 SRD 381

319.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 ISK 412

$4.77 SRD 179

-29.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 ISK 347

$3.11 SRD 116

-8.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.17 ISK 387

$3.73 SRD 140

-15.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.39 ISK 779

$5.89 SRD 221

8.49%

Potato (1kg)

$4.01 ISK 489

$1.33 SRD 49.77

201.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 ISK 200

$2.02 SRD 75.6

-18.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.80 ISK 463

$1.48 SRD 55.6

156.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ISK 212

$1.51 SRD 56.4

15.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.80 ISK 1,682

$5.58 SRD 209

147.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.38 ISK 2,851

$7.80 SRD 292

199.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 ISK 430

$2.00 SRD 75.0

76.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 ISK 420

$3.78 SRD 142

-8.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.77 ISK 704

$0.77 SRD 28.90

649.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 ISK 11.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.63 ISK 808

$2.13 SRD 79.8

211.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.79 ISK 341

$1.54 SRD 57.8

81.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$81.4 ISK 9,923

$7.17 SRD 269

1034.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 ISK 257

$1.19 SRD 44.50

77.31%

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

$50.8K ISK 6.2M

$24.6K SRD 921.2K

106.71%

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

$52.7K ISK 6.4M

$25.3K SRD 948.6K

108.33%

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

$88.7 ISK 10.8K

$37.31 SRD 1,398

137.66%

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

$31.53 ISK 3,845

$25.70 SRD 963

22.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$84.6 ISK 10.3K

$30.67 SRD 1,149

175.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$100 ISK 12.2K

$13.84 SRD 518

625.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$48.20 ISK 5,877

$20.32 SRD 761

137.20%

Cinema Ticket

$19.87 ISK 2,424

$4.96 SRD 186

300.60%

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

$1,277 ISK 155.8K

$62.3 SRD 2,335

1950.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.0K ISK 3.8M

$1,739 SRD 65.2K

1679.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$161 ISK 19.6K

$33.84 SRD 1,268

375.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.9 ISK 7,914

$20.87 SRD 782

210.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$183 ISK 22.3K

$67.4 SRD 2,525

171.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$254 ISK 31.0K

$104 SRD 3,903

143.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,499 ISK 304.8K

$487 SRD 18.3K

413.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,000 ISK 243.9K

$263 SRD 9,855

660.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,452 ISK 421.0K

$949 SRD 35.6K

263.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,742 ISK 334.4K

$508 SRD 19.0K

440.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,001 ISK 975.7K

$462 SRD 17.3K

1630.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,249 ISK 762.1K

$400 SRD 15.0K

1461.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,691 ISK 572.0K

$279 SRD 10.5K

1579.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.81

-44.94%

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

Last update for Reykjavik: October 4, 2026

Last update for Paramaribo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Reykjavik

$2K 50.9%

Paramaribo

$263 26.3% 86.9% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Reykjavik

$625 15.9%

Paramaribo

$300 30% 52.1% $325

Eating Out

Reykjavik

$526 13.4%

Paramaribo

$205 20.5% 61% $321

Clothing & Footwear

Reykjavik

$298 7.6%

Paramaribo

$102 10.2% 65.8% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Reykjavik

$205 5.2%

Paramaribo

$94 9.4% 54.3% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Reykjavik

$140 3.6%

Paramaribo

$24 2.4% 83.1% $116

Getting Around

Reykjavik

$139 3.5%

Paramaribo

$13 * 1.3% 90.7% $126

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,499 in Reykjavik versus $487 in Paramaribo. 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 $136 in Reykjavik versus $52.0 in Paramaribo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $625 vs $300 – making Paramaribo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇸 Reykjavik

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🕒 Local time

10:12 10:12 AM

07:12 7:12 AM

3 h behind Reykjavik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

136,894 Capital

242,946 Capital

💱 Currency

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ISK = 8.2 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.32 EUR

100 SRD = 2.67 USD

100 SRD = 2.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SRD, USD, EUR to ISK – Icelandic Króna Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇸 Icelandic Króna (kr)

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 = 7.32 EUR).

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 37.47 SRD (100 SRD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 41.99 SRD (100 SRD = 2.38 EUR).

USD to ISK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Reykjavik Paramaribo 7,000 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Reykjavik
Paramaribo

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 Paramaribo: 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 $6,055 per month in Reykjavik and $1,476 in Paramaribo. 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 $4,037 in Reykjavik and $984 in Paramaribo. That's a gap of about 310%.

Kindergarten costs $1,277 per month in Reykjavik and $62.3 in Paramaribo. 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.