Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ottawa vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 57.5% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 98.3% more in Ottawa
Groceries: pay 7.2% less in Ottawa
Transportation: pay 42.1% more in Ottawa
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Ottawa
Childcare: pay 56.4% more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 78.5% more in Ottawa
Clothing: pay 8.5% less in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 98.3% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$17.99 CA$24.87	+167.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$11.01 CA$15.22	+100.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$2.00 CA$2.77	+36.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$1.56 CA$2.15	+88.8%
Average			+98.3%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.2% less for groceries

	South Korea	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$2.73 CA$3.77	-5.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$5.85 CA$8.09	+4.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$8.65 CA$11.97	+12.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$3.52 CA$4.86	+24.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$5.74 CA$7.94	+72.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$1.91 CA$2.64	-41.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$0.60 CA$0.83	-56.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$1.63 CA$2.25	-41.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$1.67 CA$2.30	-30.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$1.11 CA$1.53	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$1.46 CA$2.02	+21.2%
Average			-7.2%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.1% more for transportation

	South Korea	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$4.05 CA$5.60	-8.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$97.12 CA$134.31	+105.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	-7.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$14.82 CA$20.49	+77.9%
Average			+42.1%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	South Korea	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$49.93 CA$69.04	+130.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	+206.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	+244.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$118.93 CA$164.46	-10.3%
Average			+142.6%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay 56.4% more for childcare

	South Korea	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	+108.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	+4.6%
Average			+56.4%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 78.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$5.76 CA$7.96	+84.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$3.74 CA$5.18	+4.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$12.95 CA$17.91	+306.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$44.60 CA$61.68	-10.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$10.79 CA$14.92	+6.7%
Average			+78.5%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.5% less for clothing

	South Korea	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$52.82 CA$73.05	-20.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$38.91 CA$53.81	-23.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$87.10 CA$120.44	+19.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$92.91 CA$128.48	-10.0%
Average			-8.5%

South Korea vs. Ottawa - 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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