Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 3.4% more expensive than Athens.

Restaurants
pay 24.9% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 95.2% more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 13.0% less in Seoul
Housing
pay 10.4% less in Seoul
Childcare
pay 25.3% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.8% less in Seoul
Clothing
pay 29.6% less in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Athens Cost Breakdown

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

pay 24.9% less for restaurants

 
Athens
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€15.11
$8.49
₩12,461
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.51
€9.06
$6.30
₩9,242
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.48
€2.14
$1.64
₩2,405

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pay 95.2% more for groceries

 
Athens
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.39
€1.20
$3.24
₩4,752
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.54
€6.50
$6.79
₩9,969
Milk (1 gallon) $7.20
€6.21
$7.85
₩11,517

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pay 13.0% less for transportation

 
Athens
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.94
€6.85
$4.43
₩6,502
Monthly public transit pass $35.04
€30.21
$45.99
₩67,498
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,198.27
€25,178.46
$25,072.36
₩36,796,951

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pay 10.4% less for housing

 
Athens
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.45
€29.71
$20.56
₩30,169
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $685.67
€591.27
$925.55
₩1,358,372
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $609.10
€525.24
$559.33
₩820,889

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pay 25.3% more for childcare

 
Athens
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $566.82
€488.78
$360.15
₩528,564
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,581.98
€9,987.46
$21,667.04
₩31,799,193

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pay 18.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Athens
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€5.04
$3.54
₩5,192
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.12
€3.55
$3.70
₩5,427
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.84
€5.04
$3.18
₩4,673

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pay 29.6% less for clothing

 
Athens
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$101.47
€87.50
$49.77
₩73,037
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.68
€41.11
$39.49
₩57,958
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.26
€90.77
$74.94
₩109,988

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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: December 2025
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