Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Canada Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 14.7% cheaper than Canada overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.9% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 29.2% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 16.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 43.5% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 11.3% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.6% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 7.8% more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Canada Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.9% less for restaurants

	Canada	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.68 CA$23.33	$6.72 ₩9,865	-59.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.26 CA$14.35	$5.50 ₩8,068	-46.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 CA$2.81	$1.47 ₩2,152	-26.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.66 CA$2.32	$0.82 ₩1,211	-50.4%
Average			-45.9%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.2% more for groceries

	Canada	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.50 CA$3.50	$2.87 ₩4,217	+15.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 CA$7.45	$5.63 ₩8,255	+5.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.12 CA$11.36	$7.67 ₩11,264	-5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.44 CA$4.81	$2.84 ₩4,162	-17.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.30 CA$7.41	$3.34 ₩4,896	-37.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CA$2.49	$3.24 ₩4,748	+81.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 CA$0.93	$1.39 ₩2,037	+109.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 CA$2.27	$2.80 ₩4,104	+72.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.77 CA$2.47	$2.40 ₩3,528	+36.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 CA$1.61	$1.78 ₩2,616	+55.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.14 CA$1.60	$1.20 ₩1,767	+5.2%
Average			+29.2%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.4% less for transportation

	Canada	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 CA$5.91	$4.40 ₩6,458	+4.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.98 CA$92.29	$47.17 ₩69,233	-28.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,583.45 CA$34,386.10	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	+7.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.38 CA$22.91	$8.33 ₩12,228	-49.1%
Average			-16.4%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.5% less for housing

	Canada	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.20 CA$85.60	$21.68 ₩31,824	-64.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,228.04 CA$1,717.72	$473.91 ₩695,518	-61.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,109.76 CA$1,552.28	$357.19 ₩524,216	-67.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$110.65 CA$154.78	$132.53 ₩194,509	+19.8%
Average			-43.5%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 11.3% less for childcare

	Canada	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$720.23 CA$1,007.42	$378.52 ₩555,533	-47.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,062.51 CA$16,872.44	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	+24.8%
Average			-11.3%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Canada	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.23 CA$7.32	$3.12 ₩4,576	-40.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.65 CA$5.10	$3.57 ₩5,236	-2.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.37 CA$18.70	$3.18 ₩4,673	-76.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.26 CA$60.51	$49.86 ₩73,176	+15.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.18 CA$15.64	$10.12 ₩14,850	-9.5%
Average			-22.6%

Canada vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.8% more for clothing

	Canada	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.62 CA$75.01	$66.46 ₩97,538	+23.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.27 CA$57.72	$50.68 ₩74,384	+22.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.13 CA$120.47	$72.74 ₩106,755	-15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.00 CA$144.07	$103.23 ₩151,509	+0.2%
Average			+7.8%

Canada vs. South Korea - 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: December 2025

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