Cost of living comparison

compared to

Russia vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Russia is 26.6% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.4% less in Russia
Groceries: pay 54.3% less in Russia
Transportation: pay 28.5% less in Russia
Housing: pay 31.7% less in Russia
Childcare: pay 34.5% less in Russia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.6% less in Russia
Clothing: pay 4.0% more in Russia

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

Russia vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.4% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Russia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$9.65 RUB750.26	+43.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$5.53 RUB429.86	+0.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$1.06 RUB82.04	-28.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$0.51 RUB39.84	-37.9%
Average			-5.4%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.3% less for groceries

	South Korea	Russia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$0.63 RUB48.99	-78.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$5.02 RUB390.35	-10.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$4.22 RUB328.07	-45.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$1.60 RUB124.25	-43.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$2.20 RUB171.01	-34.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$0.79 RUB61.35	-75.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$0.80 RUB62.32	-42.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$0.93 RUB72.28	-66.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$1.25 RUB97.49	-47.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$0.38 RUB29.48	-78.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$0.30 RUB23.55	-74.8%
Average			-54.3%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.5% less for transportation

	South Korea	Russia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$2.69 RUB209.35	-38.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$21.72 RUB1,688.04	-54.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$31,562.55 RUB2,452,945.27	+19.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$4.94 RUB384.30	-40.7%
Average			-28.5%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.7% less for housing

	South Korea	Russia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$7.57 RUB588.25	-65.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$433.96 RUB33,726.17	-8.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$300.84 RUB23,380.59	-15.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$82.77 RUB6,432.37	-37.5%
Average			-31.7%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.5% less for childcare

	South Korea	Russia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$300.70 RUB23,369.39	-20.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$7,780.29 RUB604,660.71	-48.3%
Average			-34.5%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.6% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Russia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$1.70 RUB132.06	-45.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$2.17 RUB168.48	-39.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$2.68 RUB208.50	-15.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$35.84 RUB2,785.59	-28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$5.13 RUB398.32	-49.3%
Average			-35.6%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.0% more for clothing

	South Korea	Russia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$62.56 RUB4,861.67	-5.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$43.72 RUB3,398.03	-13.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$102.93 RUB7,999.61	+41.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$97.34 RUB7,564.61	-5.7%
Average			+4.0%

South Korea vs. Russia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

South Korea vs.

Australia

South Korea vs.

Austria

South Korea vs.

Ukraine

South Korea vs.

Italy

South Korea vs.

Egypt

South Korea vs.

Greece

South Korea vs.

Canada

South Korea vs.

Iceland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Seoul vs. Moscow

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for South Korea

Add prices for Russia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Russia or South Korea. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.