Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 62.5% more expensive than Sao Tome.

Restaurants: pay 7.7% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 33.0% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 12.3% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 9.3 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.5% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 40.0% more in Seoul

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Seoul are more expensive than in Sao Tome. Expenses including transportation and restaurants are lower in Seoul. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Sao Tome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.7% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 STD200K	$8.96 ₩11,955
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89 STD176K	$7.46 ₩9,962	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.84 STD41,004	$1.58 ₩2,112	-14.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 STD27,770	$0.79 ₩1,049	-36.9%
Average			-7.7%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.0% more for groceries

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 STD22,187	$3.10 ₩4,134	+211.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.80 STD218K	$8.84 ₩11,798	-9.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.87 STD131K	$7.79 ₩10,403	+32.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.85 STD108K	$3.61 ₩4,813	-25.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.89 STD198K	$4.74 ₩6,328	-46.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,881	$3.46 ₩4,624	+103.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 STD17,644	$1.57 ₩2,091	+97.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 STD36,419	$2.59 ₩3,462	+58.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 STD34,958	$2.83 ₩3,782	+80.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 STD29,299	$1.66 ₩2,211	+26.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 STD23,986	$1.16 ₩1,542	+7.3%
Average			+33.0%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.3% less for transportation

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.46 STD144K	$5.53 ₩7,384	-14.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$46.28 ₩61,767
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,634.18 STD549M	$29,385.60 ₩39M	+19.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.43 STD500K	$8.51 ₩11,357	-62.1%
Average			-12.3%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.91 STD1M	$20.82 ₩27,787	-68.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$284.91 STD6M	$886.39 ₩1M	+211.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.02 STD4M	$620.25 ₩828K	+218.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.83 STD4M	$162.69 ₩217K	-6.9%
Average			+133.4%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 9.3 times more for childcare

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.62 STD5M	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+743.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,194.77 STD49M	$22,602.27 ₩30M	+929.8%
Average			+831.8%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 STD37,799	$3.73 ₩4,981	+120.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 STD50,442	$4.10 ₩5,473	+81.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.26 STD50,420	$3.36 ₩4,483	+48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 STD756K	$58.22 ₩77,707	+71.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.16 STD449K	$11.20 ₩14,944	-44.5%
Average			+35.5%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.0% more for clothing

	Sao Tome	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$57.88 ₩77,255
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.02 STD2M	$32.77 ₩43,743	-56.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$69.99 ₩93,417
Men's business shoes (leather)	$18.36 STD409K	$82.45 ₩110K	+349.0%
Average			+40.0%

Sao Tome vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing

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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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