Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Canada Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 23.6% cheaper than Canada overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.5% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 35.5% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 8.7% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 50.8% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 5.3% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.6% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 12.0% more in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Canada Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Canada, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.5% less for restaurants

	Canada	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.02 CA$24.30	$7.06 ₩9,426	-58.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.30 CA$14.70	$6.17 ₩8,234	-40.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 CA$2.86	$1.53 ₩2,040	-23.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 CA$2.34	$0.88 ₩1,182	-45.9%
Average			-48.5%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.5% more for groceries

	Canada	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 CA$3.59	$3.04 ₩4,057	+20.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.21 CA$7.43	$6.12 ₩8,178	+17.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.08 CA$11.53	$8.23 ₩10,987	+1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.50 CA$4.99	$2.94 ₩3,925	-15.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.39 CA$7.69	$4.11 ₩5,487	-23.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 CA$2.56	$4.00 ₩5,344	+122.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CA$0.90	$1.55 ₩2,070	+144.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CA$2.36	$3.00 ₩4,001	+81.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.77 CA$2.52	$2.63 ₩3,515	+48.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 CA$1.64	$2.03 ₩2,716	+76.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CA$1.55	$1.26 ₩1,686	+16.4%
Average			+35.5%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% less for transportation

	Canada	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.47 CA$6.38	$5.01 ₩6,687	+12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.05 CA$92.85	$46.10 ₩61,565	-29.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,172.47 CA$38,784.62	$28,394.53 ₩38M	+4.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.38 CA$21.95	$8.59 ₩11,475	-44.1%
Average			-8.7%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.8% less for housing

	Canada	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.08 CA$81.47	$24.34 ₩32,505	-57.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,206.12 CA$1,721.56	$561.73 ₩750K	-53.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,084.12 CA$1,547.41	$387.83 ₩518K	-64.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.92 CA$156.90	$153.72 ₩205K	+39.8%
Average			-50.8%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 5.3% more for childcare

	Canada	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$708.00 CA$1,010.56	$545.93 ₩729K	-22.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,065.57 CA$20,076.48	$20,214.53 ₩27M	+43.7%
Average			+5.3%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Canada	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.10 CA$7.28	$3.30 ₩4,405	-35.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.67 CA$5.24	$3.66 ₩4,891	-0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.41 CA$19.13	$3.35 ₩4,469	-75.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.22 CA$60.26	$57.32 ₩76,541	+35.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.12 CA$15.87	$11.28 ₩15,069	+1.5%
Average			-13.6%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.0% more for clothing

	Canada	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.28 CA$76.05	$67.53 ₩90,178	+26.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.15 CA$57.30	$53.43 ₩71,347	+33.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.30 CA$123.18	$78.10 ₩104K	-9.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.70 CA$142.31	$102.84 ₩137K	+3.1%
Average			+12.0%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Canada vs. South Korea

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Size Comparison · See true size

Canada is about 100 times bigger than South Korea.

Moving from Canada to South Korea · OECD 2023

4,976 people moved from Canada to South Korea.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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