Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 32.0% more expensive than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 18.2% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 1.6% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 30.3% more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 63.2% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.5% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 11.2% more in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.2% less for restaurants

	Santiago	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.50 CLF0.2400	$8.49 ₩12,759	-19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.10 CLF0.1900	$6.30 ₩9,463	-22.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.61 CLF0.0400	$1.64 ₩2,463	+1.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 CLF0.0300	$0.78 ₩1,173	-32.9%
Average			-18.2%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Santiago	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 CLF0.0400	$3.24 ₩4,866	+108.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.13 CLF0.1200	$6.79 ₩10,208	+32.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.52 CLF0.1100	$7.85 ₩11,793	+73.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.01 CLF0.0900	$2.93 ₩4,406	-27.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.00 CLF0.0700	$4.67 ₩7,015	+55.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 CLF0.0200	$3.45 ₩5,178	+280.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$1.52 ₩2,290	+117.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CLF0.0200	$2.35 ₩3,534	+155.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 CLF0.0200	$2.77 ₩4,166	+229.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 CLF0.0200	$1.62 ₩2,433	+105.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$1.30 ₩1,949	+74.4%
Average			+109.6%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.6% more for transportation

	Santiago	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.23 CLF0.1200	$4.43 ₩6,658	-15.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.99 CLF0.9800	$45.99 ₩69,114	+9.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,201.90 CLF446.0400	$25,072.36 ₩38M	+30.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.86 CLF0.3000	$10.50 ₩15,779	-18.4%
Average			+1.6%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.3% more for housing

	Santiago	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.76 CLF0.5100	$20.56 ₩30,891	-5.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$502.56 CLF11.6700	$925.55 ₩1M	+84.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$424.00 CLF9.8500	$559.33 ₩841K	+31.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$107.40 CLF2.4900	$118.88 ₩179K	+10.7%
Average			+30.3%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 63.2% more for childcare

	Santiago	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$431.25 CLF10.0200	$360.15 ₩541K	-16.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,923.79 CLF207.2900	$21,667.04 ₩33M	+142.8%
Average			+63.2%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.15 CLF0.0700	$3.54 ₩5,316	+12.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.09 CLF0.0700	$3.70 ₩5,557	+19.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.56 CLF0.1300	$3.18 ₩4,785	-42.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.24 CLF0.7500	$56.34 ₩84,659	+74.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.30 CLF0.1500	$10.61 ₩15,949	+68.5%
Average			+26.5%

Santiago vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.2% more for clothing

	Santiago	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.82 CLF1.2500	$49.77 ₩74,784	-7.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.77 CLF0.7100	$39.49 ₩59,345	+28.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.54 CLF1.7100	$74.94 ₩113K	+1.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.13 CLF1.8800	$99.06 ₩149K	+22.1%
Average			+11.2%

Santiago 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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