Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 10.4% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.2% more in Seoul
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
- Transportation
-
pay 30.6% more in Seoul
- Housing
-
pay 41.1% less in Seoul
- Childcare
-
pay 13.5% more in Seoul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 37.2% less in Seoul
- Clothing
-
pay 15.6% less in Seoul
The cost of groceries, transportation, childcare, and restaurants in Seoul are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Seoul. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Seoul.
Seoul vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 12.2% more for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$8.49
₩12,461
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$6.30
₩9,242
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$1.64
₩2,405
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$0.78
₩1,146
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$3.24
₩4,752
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$6.79
₩9,969
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$7.85
₩11,517
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$2.93
₩4,303
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$4.67
₩6,851
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$3.45
₩5,057
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$1.52
₩2,237
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$2.35
₩3,451
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$2.77
₩4,069
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$1.62
₩2,376
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$1.30
₩1,904
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 30.6% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$4.43
₩6,502
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$45.99
₩67,498
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
$25,072.36
₩36,796,951
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
$10.50
₩15,410
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 41.1% less for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$20.56
₩30,169
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
$925.55
₩1,358,372
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$559.33
₩820,889
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$118.88
₩174,474
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 13.5% more for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$360.15
₩528,564
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$21,667.04
₩31,799,193
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$3.54
₩5,192
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$3.70
₩5,427
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$3.18
₩4,673
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$56.34
₩82,680
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$10.61
₩15,577
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.6% less for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
$49.77
₩73,037
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
$39.49
₩57,958
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
$74.94
₩109,988
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
$99.06
₩145,381
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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