Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 4.3% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants
pay 20.4% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 49.5% more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 24.9% more in Seoul
Housing
pay 24.0% less in Seoul
Childcare
pay 6.7% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.0% more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 13.9% less in Seoul

The cost of groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and childcare in Seoul are more expensive than in Panama City. Expenses including housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Panama City, you would:

pay 20.4% less for restaurants

 
Panama City
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.00
PAB10.00
$8.49
₩12,759
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
PAB8.00
$6.30
₩9,463
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.70
PAB1.70
$1.64
₩2,463

Improve prices ·

pay 49.5% more for groceries

 
Panama City
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$2.56
PAB2.56
$3.24
₩4,866
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.81
PAB5.81
$6.79
₩10,208
Milk (1 gallon) $6.82
PAB6.82
$7.85
₩11,793

Improve prices ·

pay 24.9% more for transportation

 
Panama City
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.44
PAB3.44
$4.43
₩6,658
Monthly public transit pass $22.50
PAB22.50
$45.99
₩69,114
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,750.00
PAB19,750.00
$25,072.36
₩38M

Improve prices ·

pay 24.0% less for housing

 
Panama City
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$49.20
PAB49.20
$20.56
₩30,891
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,164.71
PAB1,164.71
$925.55
₩1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $953.85
PAB953.85
$559.33
₩841K

Improve prices ·

pay 6.7% more for childcare

 
Panama City
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $476.00
PAB476.00
$360.15
₩541K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,733.33
PAB15,733.33
$21,667.04
₩33M

Improve prices ·

pay 7.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Panama City
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.00
PAB3.00
$3.54
₩5,316
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.61
PAB3.61
$3.70
₩5,557
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.92
PAB5.92
$3.18
₩4,785

Improve prices ·

pay 13.9% less for clothing

 
Panama City
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.00
PAB50.00
$49.77
₩74,784
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.50
PAB47.50
$39.49
₩59,345
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$89.55
PAB89.55
$74.94
₩113K

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Panama vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Panama and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Seoul or Panama City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.