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
₩12,805
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.53
AED35.00
$6.30
₩9,497
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.29
AED4.74
$1.64
₩2,471

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.60
AED5.89
$3.24
₩4,883
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.28
AED19.39
$6.79
₩10,244
Milk (1 gallon) $7.50
AED27.54
$7.85
₩11,835

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pay 30.6% more for transportation

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.94
AED10.80
$4.43
₩6,682
Monthly public transit pass $25.87
AED95.00
$45.99
₩69,359
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $44,639.07
AED164K
$25,072.36
₩38M

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pay 41.1% less for housing

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$100.96
AED370.80
$20.56
₩31,000
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,490.68
AED5,474.72
$925.55
₩1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,109.19
AED4,073.63
$559.33
₩844K

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pay 13.5% more for childcare

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $625.43
AED2,296.96
$360.15
₩543K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,786.81
AED46,961.23
$21,667.04
₩33M

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pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $11.29
AED41.45
$3.54
₩5,335
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.77
AED21.18
$3.70
₩5,577
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.26
AED23.00
$3.18
₩4,802

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pay 15.6% less for clothing

 
Abu Dhabi
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.62
AED222.63
$49.77
₩75,049
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$51.93
AED190.72
$39.49
₩59,555
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$98.09
AED360.24
$74.94
₩113K

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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: March 2026
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