Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 12.9% cheaper than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 16.3% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 48.2% less in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 20.4% less in Riyadh
Housing: pay 21.4% more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 64.9% less in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.1% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 32.5% more in Riyadh

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

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Riyadh vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.3% less for restaurants

	Seoul	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩11,955	$7.99 SAR30.00	-10.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,962	$7.99 SAR30.00	+7.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,112	$0.87 SAR3.28	-44.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,049	$0.31 SAR1.18	-60.1%
Average			-16.3%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.2% less for groceries

	Seoul	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,134	$1.29 SAR4.83	-58.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩11,798	$5.27 SAR19.78	-40.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,403	$6.76 SAR25.39	-13.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,813	$3.08 SAR11.57	-14.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,328	$4.34 SAR16.27	-8.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,624	$1.30 SAR4.88	-62.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,091	$0.87 SAR3.28	-44.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,462	$1.13 SAR4.23	-56.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,782	$0.80 SAR2.99	-71.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,211	$0.54 SAR2.04	-67.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,542	$0.59 SAR2.21	-49.0%
Average			-48.2%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.4% less for transportation

	Seoul	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,384	$2.35 SAR8.82	-57.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩61,767	$37.31 SAR140.01	-19.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩39M	$34,642.08 SAR130K	+17.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,357	$18.12 SAR68.00	+113.0%
Average			-20.4%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.4% more for housing

	Seoul	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩27,787	$71.73 SAR269.20	+244.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	+33.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩828K	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	+34.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩217K	$81.86 SAR307.20	-49.7%
Average			+21.4%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 64.9% less for childcare

	Seoul	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	-72.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩30M	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	-55.3%
Average			-64.9%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,981	$2.13 SAR8.00	-42.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,473	$4.28 SAR16.07	+4.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,483	$7.73 SAR29.00	+130.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩77,707	$89.94 SAR337.52	+54.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,944	$13.32 SAR50.00	+19.0%
Average			+14.1%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.5% more for clothing

	Seoul	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩77,255	$58.30 SAR218.78	+0.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩43,743	$54.26 SAR203.65	+65.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩93,417	$102.59 SAR385.02	+46.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩110K	$103.93 SAR390.02	+26.1%
Average			+32.5%

Seoul vs. Riyadh - 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

Compare further: Seoul vs. Riyadh

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Size Comparison · See true size

Seoul is about 3 times smaller than Riyadh.

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