Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Berlin Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 5.3% cheaper than Berlin.

Restaurants
pay 58.0% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 48.8% more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 41.2% less in Seoul
Housing
pay 49.7% less in Seoul
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.4% less in Seoul
Clothing
pay 27.4% less in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Berlin Cost Breakdown

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

pay 58.0% less for restaurants

 
Berlin
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€14.93
$8.49
₩12,520
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.55
€11.54
$6.30
₩9,286
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.49
€2.97
$1.64
₩2,416

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pay 48.8% more for groceries

 
Berlin
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$2.25
€1.92
$3.24
₩4,774
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.10
€6.05
$6.79
₩10,016
Milk (1 gallon) $5.13
€4.37
$7.85
₩11,571

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pay 41.2% less for transportation

 
Berlin
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.52
€6.41
$4.43
₩6,533
Monthly public transit pass $68.91
€58.71
$45.99
₩67,816
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,702.07
€27,862.36
$25,072.36
₩36,969,950

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pay 49.7% less for housing

 
Berlin
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$50.32
€42.87
$20.56
₩30,311
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,427.12
€1,215.92
$925.55
₩1,364,758
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,068.35
€910.24
$559.33
₩824,748

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Berlin
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $184.92
€157.55
$360.15
₩531,049
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,579.95
€8,162.18
$21,667.04
₩31,948,695

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pay 20.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Berlin
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.26
€4.48
$3.54
₩5,217
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.45
€3.79
$3.70
₩5,453
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.16
€8.66
$3.18
₩4,695

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pay 27.4% less for clothing

 
Berlin
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$93.79
€79.91
$49.77
₩73,380
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.63
€37.18
$39.49
₩58,230
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$106.67
€90.88
$74.94
₩110,505

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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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