Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Bern Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 43.1% cheaper than Bern.

Restaurants: pay 68.0% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 12.2% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 46.7% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 50.8% less in Seoul
Childcare: pay 32.4% less in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.0% less in Seoul
Clothing: pay 54.6% less in Seoul

Expenses including restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and childcare are lower in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Bern Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 68.0% less for restaurants

	Bern	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$28.80 CHF23.89	$8.96 ₩12,006	-68.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.60 CHF12.94	$7.46 ₩10,005	-52.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$6.23 CHF5.17	$1.58 ₩2,121	-74.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$6.97 CHF5.78	$0.79 ₩1,054	-88.7%
Average			-68.0%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.2% more for groceries

	Bern	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 CHF2.44	$3.10 ₩4,152	+5.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.12 CHF10.06	$8.84 ₩11,848	-27.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.18 CHF6.78	$7.79 ₩10,447	-4.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.71 CHF6.40	$3.61 ₩4,833	-53.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$13.20 CHF10.95	$4.74 ₩6,355	-64.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 CHF1.46	$3.46 ₩4,643	+96.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 CHF0.76	$1.57 ₩2,100	+72.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.20 CHF1.00	$2.59 ₩3,477	+115.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.09 CHF1.73	$2.83 ₩3,798	+35.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 CHF0.60	$1.66 ₩2,221	+128.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 CHF0.75	$1.16 ₩1,548	+27.3%
Average			+12.2%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.7% less for transportation

	Bern	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.82 CHF7.32	$5.53 ₩7,416	-37.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$98.40 CHF81.64	$46.28 ₩62,031	-53.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,598.89 CHF35,342.77	$29,385.60 ₩39M	-31.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$44.64 CHF37.04	$8.51 ₩11,406	-80.9%
Average			-46.7%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.8% less for housing

	Bern	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.60 CHF45.30	$20.82 ₩27,906	-61.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,861.45 CHF1,544.38	$886.39 ₩1M	-52.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,408.46 CHF1,168.55	$620.25 ₩831K	-56.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$207.74 CHF172.35	$162.69 ₩218K	-21.7%
Average			-50.8%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 32.4% less for childcare

	Bern	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,125.25 CHF2,592.91	$1,927.59 ₩3M	-38.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,462.54 CHF25,273.67	$22,602.27 ₩30M	-25.8%
Average			-32.4%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Bern	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$9.00 CHF7.47	$3.73 ₩5,002	-58.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.78 CHF5.62	$4.10 ₩5,497	-39.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.23 CHF9.32	$3.36 ₩4,502	-70.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.38 CHF73.32	$58.22 ₩78,039	-34.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.00 CHF19.91	$11.20 ₩15,007	-53.3%
Average			-50.0%

Bern vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 54.6% less for clothing

	Bern	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$139.98 CHF116.14	$57.88 ₩77,585	-58.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$60.81 CHF50.45	$32.77 ₩43,930	-46.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$155.71 CHF129.19	$69.99 ₩93,816	-55.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.99 CHF161.78	$82.45 ₩111K	-57.7%
Average			-54.6%

Bern vs. Seoul - 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: October 2026

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Bern is about 12 times smaller than Seoul.

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