Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Reykjavik and Paulista

For one person, living is cheaper in Paulista: $787 a month against $4,002 in Reykjavik, rent and utilities included – about $38,600 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Paulista
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Paulista Living Index

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Reykjavik

🇮🇸 Iceland

$4,002

/mo nomad

Paulista

🇧🇷 Brazil

$787

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Reykjavik and in Paulista

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,002 in Reykjavik versus $787 in Paulista.

Reykjavik $4,002
Paulista $787

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,705 in Reykjavik versus $1,225 in Paulista.

Reykjavik $5,705
Paulista $1,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,407 in Reykjavik versus $1,663 in Paulista.

Reykjavik $7,407
Paulista $1,663

Living in Reykjavik is roughly 409% more expensive than in Paulista, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Reykjavik is 196% above, Paulista is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$31.56 ISK 3,828

$7.05 R$35.72

347.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 ISK 14.8K

$15.92 R$80.7

668.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$26.86 ISK 3,258

$8.24 R$41.79

225.97%

Cappuccino

$6.81 ISK 827

$1.58 R$8.03

331.01%

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

$3.39 ISK 411

$1.07 R$5.43

216.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 ISK 388

$0.42 R$2.13

661.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$14.14 ISK 1,715

$1.92 R$9.71

636.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.31 ISK 1,493

$3.54 R$17.94

247.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 ISK 255

$1.02 R$5.16

105.88%

White Bread (500g)

$4.19 ISK 508

$1.82 R$9.20

130.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.72 ISK 451

$1.03 R$5.22

261.17%

Eggs

$7.05 ISK 856

$2.17 R$11.02

224.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.56 ISK 2,615

$2.89 R$14.64

646.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$24.68 ISK 2,993

$2.96 R$15.01

733.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.19 ISK 5,117

$5.69 R$28.86

641.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.23 ISK 392

$2.02 R$10.25

59.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 ISK 331

$0.95 R$4.80

187.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.17 ISK 384

$0.92 R$4.64

244.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.61 ISK 802

$1.18 R$5.97

460.17%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ISK 467

$1.37 R$6.95

181.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 ISK 201

$0.84 R$4.26

97.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.80 ISK 461

$0.41 R$2.09

826.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 ISK 212

$0.86 R$4.37

103.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.71 ISK 1,662

$2.27 R$11.52

503.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.21 ISK 2,937

$3.74 R$18.95

547.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 ISK 428

$1.55 R$7.87

127.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ISK 402

$3.29 R$16.70

0.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.75 ISK 697

$1.04 R$5.28

452.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 ISK 11.4K

$48.16 R$244

94.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.61 ISK 802

$1.97 R$9.99

235.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.90 ISK 352

$1.17 R$5.95

147.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$79.2 ISK 9,602

$3.25 R$16.46

2335.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 ISK 253

$1.09 R$5.51

91.74%

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

$51.0K ISK 6.2M

$14.2K R$72.2K

258.20%

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

$53.3K ISK 6.5M

$30.0K R$151.9K

77.73%

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

$95.3 ISK 11.6K

$46.71 R$237

103.94%

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

$32.35 ISK 3,923

$23.42 R$119

38.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$87.5 ISK 10.6K

$23.62 R$120

270.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 ISK 12.4K

$25.85 R$131

294.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$50.1 ISK 6,074

$27.58 R$140

81.58%

Cinema Ticket

$19.88 ISK 2,412

$5.88 R$29.81

238.10%

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

$1,194 ISK 144.8K

$69.7 R$353

1612.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.4K ISK 3.1M

$6,903 R$35.0K

268.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$149 ISK 18.1K

$18.37 R$93.1

711.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.6 ISK 8,080

$68.6 R$348

-2.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$180 ISK 21.8K

$50.4 R$256

256.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$253 ISK 30.7K

$59.7 R$303

323.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,549 ISK 309.2K

$354 R$1,796

619.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,056 ISK 249.4K

$237 R$1,201

767.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,498 ISK 424.2K

$688 R$3,485

408.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,764 ISK 335.2K

$464 R$2,353

495.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,120 ISK 984.9K

$1,798 R$9,115

351.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,254 ISK 758.5K

$1,346 R$6,824

364.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,573 ISK 554.6K

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 12, 2026

Last update for Paulista: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Reykjavik

$2.1K 51.4%

Paulista

$237 30.1% 88.5% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Reykjavik

$623 15.6%

Paulista

$147 18.6% 76.4% $476

Eating Out

Reykjavik

$536 13.4%

Paulista

$123 15.6% 77.1% $414

Clothing & Footwear

Reykjavik

$292 7.3%

Paulista

$89 11.3% 69.6% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Reykjavik

$215 5.4%

Paulista

$94 11.9% 56.4% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Reykjavik

$142 3.5%

Paulista

$38 4.8% 73.4% $104

Getting Around

Reykjavik

$138 3.5%

Paulista

$60 7.7% 56.4% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,549 in Reykjavik and $354 in Paulista. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $122 in Reykjavik vs $16.00 in Paulista for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $623 vs $147 per month, with Paulista cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇸 Reykjavik

🇧🇷 Paulista

🕒 Local time

20:29 8:29 PM

17:29 5:29 PM

3 h behind Reykjavik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

136,894 Capital

342,167

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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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Highest

Between locations

Reykjavik Paulista 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Reykjavik
Paulista

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 Paulista: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Paulista wins on cost – living expenses run 409% lower than in Reykjavik. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Paulista the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $6,003 in Reykjavik and $1,180 in Paulista to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,549 in Reykjavik versus $354 in Paulista. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,194 in Reykjavik versus $69.7 in Paulista. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 325% higher in Reykjavik. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $787 in Paulista versus $4,002 in Reykjavik, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Paulista but tight or insufficient in Reykjavik. The gap between the two cities makes Paulista the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Paulista delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $787 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Paulista hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Reykjavik and Paulista are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Paulista gentler on the wallet – expenses run 409% less than in Reykjavik. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.