Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 21.3% cheaper than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 50.4% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 31.9% more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 4.9% more in Seoul
Housing
pay 49.7% less in Seoul
Childcare
pay 37.6% less in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 36.7% less in Seoul
Clothing
pay 11.4% less in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

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

pay 50.4% less for restaurants

 
Austin
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$8.49
₩12,832
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$6.30
₩9,517
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.67
 
$1.64
₩2,477

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pay 31.9% more for groceries

 
Austin
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$3.40
 
$3.24
₩4,893
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.17
 
$6.79
₩10,265
Milk (1 gallon) $3.93
 
$7.85
₩11,860

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pay 4.9% more for transportation

 
Austin
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.79
 
$4.43
₩6,696
Monthly public transit pass $41.38
 
$45.99
₩69,505
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,900.00
 
$25,072.36
₩38M

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pay 49.7% less for housing

 
Austin
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.20
 
$20.56
₩31,066
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,134.75
 
$925.55
₩1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,434.41
 
$559.33
₩845K

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pay 37.6% less for childcare

 
Austin
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,343.18
 
$360.15
₩544K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,093.75
 
$21,667.04
₩33M

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pay 36.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$3.54
₩5,347
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.56
 
$3.70
₩5,589
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$3.18
₩4,812

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pay 11.4% less for clothing

 
Austin
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.74
 
$49.77
₩75,208
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.79
 
$39.49
₩59,681
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.55
 
$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: April 2026
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