Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Spain

Madrid vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Madrid is 16.2% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 88.7% more in Madrid
Groceries: pay 37.0% less in Madrid
Transportation: pay 14.7% more in Madrid
Housing: pay 61.2% more in Madrid
Childcare: pay 47.7% less in Madrid
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.3% less in Madrid
Clothing: pay 42.9% more in Madrid

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

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Madrid vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 88.7% more for restaurants

	Seoul	Madrid
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩11,955	$17.92 €15.95	+100.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,962	$11.20 €9.97	+50.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,112	$3.30 €2.94	+108.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,049	$2.30 €2.05	+192.7%
Average			+88.7%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.0% less for groceries

	Seoul	Madrid
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,134	$1.57 €1.39	-49.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩11,798	$8.35 €7.43	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,403	$5.25 €4.67	-32.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,813	$4.15 €3.69	+15.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,328	$4.23 €3.76	-10.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,624	$1.17 €1.04	-66.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,091	$0.96 €0.85	-38.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,462	$1.15 €1.02	-55.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,782	$1.16 €1.03	-59.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,211	$1.00 €0.89	-39.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,542	$0.97 €0.86	-16.1%
Average			-37.0%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.7% more for transportation

	Seoul	Madrid
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,384	$6.88 €6.12	+24.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩61,767	$36.95 €32.89	-20.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩39M	$35,271.67 €31,393.06	+20.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,357	$15.84 €14.10	+86.2%
Average			+14.7%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.2% more for housing

	Seoul	Madrid
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩27,787	$34.86 €31.03	+67.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$1,491.38 €1,327.38	+68.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩828K	$1,193.86 €1,062.58	+92.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩217K	$144.11 €128.26	-11.4%
Average			+61.2%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of housing

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pay 47.7% less for childcare

	Seoul	Madrid
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$668.48 €594.97	-65.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩30M	$17,859.91 €15,895.97	-21.0%
Average			-47.7%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Madrid
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,981	$3.92 €3.49	+5.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,473	$3.07 €2.74	-25.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,483	$6.72 €5.98	+100.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩77,707	$50.67 €45.10	-13.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,944	$11.20 €9.97
Average			-1.3%

Seoul vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.9% more for clothing

	Seoul	Madrid
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩77,255	$86.50 €76.99	+49.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩43,743	$42.98 €38.25	+31.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩93,417	$108.99 €97.00	+55.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩110K	$112.77 €100.37	+36.8%
Average			+42.9%

Seoul vs. Madrid - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Seoul is around the same size as Madrid.

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