Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 37.9% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 69.3% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 18.8% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 6.7% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 70.0% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.9% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 9.2% more in South Korea

The cost of groceries, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in South Korea are more expensive than in Saudi Arabia. Expenses including entertainment and sports and housing are lower in South Korea. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 69.3% more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.32 SAR23.70	$6.72 ₩9,865	+6.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$5.50 ₩8,068	-28.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.79	$1.47 ₩2,152	+97.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 SAR1.02	$0.82 ₩1,211	+202.4%
Average			+69.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 SAR3.43	$2.87 ₩4,217	+214.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 SAR13.56	$5.63 ₩8,255	+55.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.74 SAR25.26	$7.67 ₩11,264	+14.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 SAR9.47	$2.84 ₩4,162	+12.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 SAR12.28	$3.34 ₩4,896	+1.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 SAR3.63	$3.24 ₩4,748	+234.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.91	$1.39 ₩2,037	+78.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR3.00	$2.80 ₩4,104	+249.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$2.40 ₩3,528	+225.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$1.78 ₩2,616	+168.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 SAR2.43	$1.20 ₩1,767	+85.5%
Average			+121.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.8% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.32 SAR8.72	$4.40 ₩6,458	+89.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.84 SAR126.92	$47.17 ₩69,233	+39.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	+2.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.00 SAR71.26	$8.33 ₩12,228	-56.1%
Average			+18.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.7% less for housing

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.04 SAR277.70	$21.68 ₩31,824	-70.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	$473.91 ₩695,518	+9.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	$357.19 ₩524,216	-0.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.42 SAR365.42	$132.53 ₩194,509	+36.0%
Average			-6.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 70.0% more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	$378.52 ₩555,533	+7.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	+132.1%
Average			+70.0%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.89 SAR7.09	$3.12 ₩4,576	+65.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 SAR13.06	$3.57 ₩5,236	+2.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.47 SAR28.00	$3.18 ₩4,673	-57.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.43 SAR399.18	$49.86 ₩73,176	-53.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.24 SAR64.67	$10.12 ₩14,850	-41.3%
Average			-16.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.2% more for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.71 SAR182.69	$66.46 ₩97,538	+36.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50 SAR215.68	$50.68 ₩74,384	-11.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.56 SAR332.16	$72.74 ₩106,755	-17.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.17 SAR296.96	$103.23 ₩151,509	+30.4%
Average			+9.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Korea - 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: December 2025

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