Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 3.4 times more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 3.4 times more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 4.3 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 72.3% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 4.6 times more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 5.8 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 92.0% more in Seoul

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Seoul are more expensive than in Kathmandu. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4 times more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.76 NPR260.20	$8.49 ₩12,759	+381.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.34 NPR936.73	$6.30 ₩9,463	-0.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 NPR80.06	$1.64 ₩2,463	+202.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.17 NPR25.14	$0.78 ₩1,173	+358.6%
Average			+235.5%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.3 times more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 NPR81.00	$3.24 ₩4,866	+490.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.49 NPR663.79	$6.79 ₩10,208	+51.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 NPR466.12	$7.85 ₩11,793	+148.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 NPR261.05	$2.93 ₩4,406	+65.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.40 NPR207.09	$4.67 ₩7,015	+232.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 NPR143.78	$3.45 ₩5,178	+253.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 NPR66.92	$1.52 ₩2,290	+236.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.54 NPR80.17	$2.35 ₩3,534	+333.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 NPR44.40	$2.77 ₩4,166	+822.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR32.29	$1.62 ₩2,433	+640.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR43.06	$1.30 ₩1,949	+344.9%
Average			+329.1%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.3% more for transportation

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.57 NPR674.87	$4.43 ₩6,658	-3.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.57 NPR1,561.22	$45.99 ₩69,114	+335.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,715.30 NPR5M	$25,072.36 ₩38M	-20.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.39 NPR1,977.54	$10.50 ₩15,779	-21.6%
Average			+72.3%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.6 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.25 NPR1,218.22	$20.56 ₩30,891	+149.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$179.99 NPR26,579.79	$925.55 ₩1M	+414.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$93.92 NPR13,869.93	$559.33 ₩841K	+495.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$23.92 NPR3,531.87	$118.88 ₩179K	+397.1%
Average			+364.0%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 5.8 times more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$80.28 NPR11,856.19	$360.15 ₩541K	+348.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,085.67 NPR456K	$21,667.04 ₩33M	+602.2%
Average			+475.4%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 NPR385.10	$3.54 ₩5,316	+35.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.78 NPR263.48	$3.70 ₩5,557	+107.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.82 NPR416.32	$3.18 ₩4,785	+12.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$21.82 NPR3,222.51	$56.34 ₩84,659	+158.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.17 NPR468.36	$10.61 ₩15,949	+234.6%
Average			+109.7%

Kathmandu vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 92.0% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.91 NPR3,382.63	$49.77 ₩74,784	+117.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.63 NPR3,931.95	$39.49 ₩59,345	+48.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.89 NPR8,400.83	$74.94 ₩113K	+31.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$36.56 NPR5,399.20	$99.06 ₩149K	+170.9%
Average			+92.0%

Kathmandu 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: March 2026

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