Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 5.9% cheaper than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 9.6% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 6.3% less in South Korea
Transportation: pay 3.3% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 17.0% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 12.7% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.9% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 15.8% more in South Korea

Expenses including housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Seoul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.6% less for restaurants

	Seoul	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.49 ₩12,520	$6.72 ₩9,912	-20.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.30 ₩9,286	$5.50 ₩8,106	-12.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ₩2,416	$1.47 ₩2,162	-10.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ₩1,151	$0.82 ₩1,216	+5.7%
Average			-9.6%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.3% less for groceries

	Seoul	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.24 ₩4,774	$2.87 ₩4,237	-11.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.79 ₩10,016	$5.63 ₩8,294	-17.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.85 ₩11,571	$7.67 ₩11,317	-2.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.93 ₩4,323	$2.84 ₩4,182	-3.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.67 ₩6,883	$3.34 ₩4,919	-28.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.45 ₩5,080	$3.24 ₩4,771	-6.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.52 ₩2,247	$1.39 ₩2,046	-8.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.35 ₩3,467	$2.80 ₩4,123	+18.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.77 ₩4,088	$2.40 ₩3,545	-13.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 ₩2,388	$1.78 ₩2,628	+10.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.30 ₩1,913	$1.20 ₩1,775	-7.2%
Average			-6.3%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.3% less for transportation

	Seoul	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.43 ₩6,533	$4.40 ₩6,489	-0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.99 ₩67,816	$47.17 ₩69,558	+2.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,072.36 ₩36,969,950	$26,440.41 ₩38,987,177	+5.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.50 ₩15,483	$8.33 ₩12,286	-20.6%
Average			-3.3%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.0% less for housing

	Seoul	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.56 ₩30,311	$21.68 ₩31,974	+5.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$925.55 ₩1,364,758	$473.91 ₩698,787	-48.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$559.33 ₩824,748	$357.19 ₩526,681	-36.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.88 ₩175,294	$132.53 ₩195,423	+11.5%
Average			-17.0%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 12.7% less for childcare

	Seoul	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$360.15 ₩531,049	$378.52 ₩558,145	+5.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,667.04 ₩31,948,695	$15,055.40 ₩22,199,645	-30.5%
Average			-12.7%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.54 ₩5,217	$3.12 ₩4,598	-11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.70 ₩5,453	$3.57 ₩5,261	-3.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,695	$3.18 ₩4,695
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.34 ₩83,069	$49.86 ₩73,520	-11.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 ₩15,650	$10.12 ₩14,919	-4.7%
Average			-7.9%

Seoul vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.8% more for clothing

	Seoul	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.77 ₩73,380	$66.46 ₩97,997	+33.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.49 ₩58,230	$50.68 ₩74,734	+28.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.94 ₩110,505	$72.74 ₩107,257	-2.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.06 ₩146,064	$103.23 ₩152,222	+4.2%
Average			+15.8%

Seoul 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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