Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Hong Kong

Hong Kong vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Hong Kong is 48.4% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 7.4% less in Hong Kong
Groceries: pay 10.5% less in Hong Kong
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Hong Kong
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Hong Kong
Childcare: pay 22.6% less in Hong Kong
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.3% more in Hong Kong
Clothing: pay 25.1% more in Hong Kong

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

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Hong Kong vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Seoul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.4% less for restaurants

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩11,955	$8.28 HK$65.00	-7.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,962	$6.37 HK$50.00	-14.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,112	$1.30 HK$10.24	-17.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,049	$1.09 HK$8.59	+39.2%
Average			-7.4%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.5% less for groceries

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,134	$2.37 HK$18.59	-23.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩11,798	$12.52 HK$98.23	+41.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,403	$11.07 HK$86.91	+42.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,813	$3.47 HK$27.20	-3.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,328	$3.96 HK$31.06	-16.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,624	$1.87 HK$14.70	-45.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,091	$1.25 HK$9.78	-20.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,462	$2.09 HK$16.41	-19.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,782	$1.80 HK$14.11	-36.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,211	$1.43 HK$11.25	-13.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,542	$1.44 HK$11.31	+24.8%
Average			-10.5%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,384	$15.51 HK$121.73	+180.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩61,767	$89.19 HK$700.01	+92.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩39M	$44,597.12 HK$350K	+51.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,357	$14.40 HK$113.00	+69.2%
Average			+101.9%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩27,787	$21.52 HK$168.90	+3.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$2,207.41 HK$17,324.05	+149.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩828K	$1,690.00 HK$13,263.34	+172.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩217K	$190.59 HK$1,495.82	+17.1%
Average			+120.6%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of housing

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pay 22.6% less for childcare

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$1,171.99 HK$9,197.98	-39.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩30M	$22,295.74 HK$175K	-1.4%
Average			-22.6%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,981	$7.65 HK$60.00	+104.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,473	$5.04 HK$39.56	+22.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,483	$13.38 HK$105.00	+298.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩77,707	$93.07 HK$730.44	+59.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,944	$13.70 HK$107.50	+22.3%
Average			+63.3%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.1% more for clothing

	Seoul	Hong Kong
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩77,255	$67.63 HK$530.78	+16.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩43,743	$41.11 HK$322.62	+25.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩93,417	$80.54 HK$632.08	+15.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩110K	$119.85 HK$940.64	+45.4%
Average			+25.1%

Seoul vs. Hong Kong - 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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