Cost of living comparison

compared to

Busan vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 46.7% more expensive than Bangkok.

Restaurants
pay 2.4 times more in Busan
Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Busan
Transportation
pay 1.3% less in Busan
Housing
pay 34.6% more in Busan
Childcare
pay 10.2% less in Busan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.0% more in Busan
Clothing
pay 34.0% more in Busan

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

Busan vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

 
Bangkok
Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.10
THB97.49
$7.08
₩10,433
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.20
THB194.99
$6.01
₩8,868
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.79
THB24.89
$1.83
₩2,700

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Bangkok
Busan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.44
THB45.28
$3.18
₩4,695
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.50
THB267.43
$5.09
₩7,512
Milk (1 gallon) $7.23
THB227.32
$8.15
₩12,020

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pay 1.3% less for transportation

 
Bangkok
Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.69
THB147.55
$4.36
₩6,429
Monthly public transit pass $37.21
THB1,169.93
$56.60
₩83,465
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,206.42
THB1,169,932.86
$26,696.92
₩39,365,407

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pay 34.6% more for housing

 
Bangkok
Busan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$16.91
THB531.61
$28.30
₩41,733
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $675.06
THB21,226.75
$489.40
₩721,628
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $321.97
THB10,124.02
$306.61
₩452,104

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pay 10.2% less for childcare

 
Bangkok
Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $609.37
THB19,161.40
$471.71
₩695,545
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,346.39
THB419,669.10
$13,620.52
₩20,083,859

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pay 21.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Bangkok
Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.79
THB87.74
$3.54
₩5,217
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.54
THB79.88
$4.00
₩5,895
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
THB138.20
$3.18
₩4,695

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pay 34.0% more for clothing

 
Bangkok
Busan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$58.81
THB1,849.09
$99.06
₩146,064
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.03
THB1,195.92
$61.91
₩91,290
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.24
THB3,277.67
$76.06
₩112,157

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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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