Honolulu vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Honolulu is 97.7% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants
pay 2.8 times more in Honolulu
Groceries
pay 57.7% more in Honolulu
Transportation
pay 37.2% more in Honolulu
Housing
pay 2.8 times more in Honolulu
Childcare
pay 15.2% more in Honolulu
Entertainment and Sports
pay 99.5% more in Honolulu
Clothing
pay 37.5% more in Honolulu

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

Honolulu vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.96
₩12,215
$28.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.46
₩10,179
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.58
₩2,158
$4.92
 

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pay 57.7% more for groceries

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Bread
1 loaf
$3.10
₩4,224
$7.70
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.84
₩12,055
$14.07
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.79
₩10,629
$8.35
 

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pay 37.2% more for transportation

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.53
₩7,545
$5.33
 
Monthly public transit pass $46.28
₩63,112
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,385.60
₩40M
$35,628.00
 

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$20.82
₩28,392
$65.78
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $886.39
₩1M
$2,913.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $620.25
₩846K
$1,943.33
 

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pay 15.2% more for childcare

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,927.59
₩3M
$2,134.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,602.27
₩31M
$27,098.33
 

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pay 99.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.73
₩5,090
$10.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.10
₩5,593
$10.33
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.36
₩4,581
$12.56
 

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pay 37.5% more for clothing

 
Seoul
Honolulu
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.88
₩78,937
$62.99
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$32.77
₩44,695
$46.66
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$69.99
₩95,451
$101.11
 

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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