Cost of living comparison

compared to

Busan vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 8.0% more expensive than Athens.

Restaurants: pay 4.3% less in Busan
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Busan
Transportation: pay 6.9% less in Busan
Housing: pay 28.0% less in Busan
Childcare: pay 0.4% more in Busan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.3% less in Busan
Clothing: pay 1.2% less in Busan

The cost of groceries and childcare in Busan are more expensive than in Athens. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Busan. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Busan.

Busan vs. Athens Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Busan instead of Athens, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.3% less for restaurants

	Athens	Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.52 €15.08	$7.08 ₩10,509	-59.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.51 €9.05	$6.01 ₩8,933	-42.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.48 €2.13	$1.83 ₩2,719	-26.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 €0.54	$1.31 ₩1,952	+111.4%
Average			-4.3%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Athens	Busan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.39 €1.19	$3.18 ₩4,729	+129.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.54 €6.49	$5.09 ₩7,567	-32.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.20 €6.20	$8.15 ₩12,108	+13.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.70 €4.05	$2.88 ₩4,281	-38.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.85 €4.17	$3.59 ₩5,339	-25.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 €0.88	$3.69 ₩5,482	+259.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.97 €0.84	$1.44 ₩2,145	+48.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.71 €0.61	$3.33 ₩4,949	+371.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 €0.92	$2.30 ₩3,413	+114.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 €0.57	$2.25 ₩3,337	+236.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 €0.49	$1.46 ₩2,169	+158.1%
Average			+112.3%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.9% less for transportation

	Athens	Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.94 €6.84	$4.36 ₩6,476	-45.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.04 €30.16	$56.60 ₩84,074	+61.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,198.27 €25,134.08	$26,696.92 ₩40M	-8.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.02 €12.06	$9.06 ₩13,452	-35.4%
Average			-6.9%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.0% less for housing

	Athens	Busan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.45 €29.66	$28.30 ₩42,037	-17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$685.67 €590.23	$489.40 ₩727K	-28.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$609.10 €524.32	$306.61 ₩455K	-49.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$165.77 €142.70	$139.76 ₩208K	-15.7%
Average			-28.0%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of housing

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pay 0.4% more for childcare

	Athens	Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$566.82 €487.92	$471.71 ₩701K	-16.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,581.98 €9,969.85	$13,620.52 ₩20M	+17.6%
Average			+0.4%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Athens	Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.84 €5.03	$3.54 ₩5,255	-39.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.12 €3.54	$4.00 ₩5,938	-2.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.84 €5.03	$3.18 ₩4,729	-45.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.30 €48.46	$57.31 ₩85,125	+1.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.51 €9.05	$10.97 ₩16,289	+4.3%
Average			-16.3%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.2% less for clothing

	Athens	Busan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$101.47 €87.35	$99.06 ₩147K	-2.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.68 €41.04	$61.91 ₩91,956	+29.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.26 €90.61	$76.06 ₩113K	-27.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.94 €108.41	$120.29 ₩179K	-4.5%
Average			-1.2%

Athens vs. Busan - Cost of clothing

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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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