Cost of living comparison

compared to

Moscow vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Moscow is 3.0 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 6.0% less in Moscow
Groceries
pay 18.8% less in Moscow
Housing
pay 12.1 times more in Moscow
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.5% less in Moscow

Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Moscow. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Moscow.

Moscow vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Moscow instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 6.0% less for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$11.70
RUB966.60
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$7.02
RUB579.96
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$1.62
RUB133.67

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pay 18.8% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$1.02
RUB84.09
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $7.14
RUB589.78
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$4.61
RUB381.19

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $3.31
RUB273.63
Monthly public transit pass ?? $40.65
RUB3,358.95
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $38,895.19
RUB3M

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pay 12.1 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $9.88
RUB816.43
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$1,454.91
RUB120K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$804.40
RUB66,468.30

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $809.00
RUB66,848.36
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $26,421.03
RUB2M

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pay 16.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$4.68
RUB386.64
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$3.70
RUB305.66
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.45
RUB285.15

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Moscow
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $108.46
RUB8,962.59
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $62.47
RUB5,161.67
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $145.30
RUB12,006.61

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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