Cost of living comparison

compared to

Vietnam vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Vietnam is 47.7% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 56.5% less in Vietnam
Groceries: pay 57.6% less in Vietnam
Transportation: pay 29.2% less in Vietnam
Housing: pay 49.8% less in Vietnam
Childcare: pay 33.0% less in Vietnam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.5% less in Vietnam
Clothing: pay 45.2% less in Vietnam

Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, housing, clothing, and childcare are lower in Vietnam.

Vietnam vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.5% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Vietnam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩10,118	$1.88 ₫49,592	-72.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,275	$4.13 ₫109K	-24.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,207	$0.53 ₫13,932	-63.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,242	$0.29 ₫7,502	-65.4%
Average			-56.5%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Vietnam
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,326	$0.86 ₫22,618	-70.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,467	$5.32 ₫140K	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,553	$5.20 ₫137K	-32.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,269	$1.45 ₫38,087	-49.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩5,022	$1.56 ₫40,961	-53.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,870	$1.18 ₫31,158	-63.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,089	$0.47 ₫12,394	-66.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,209	$0.58 ₫15,138	-79.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,619	$0.49 ₫12,915	-79.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,683	$0.46 ₫12,221	-73.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,812	$0.47 ₫12,275	-61.3%
Average			-57.6%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.2% less for transportation

	South Korea	Vietnam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,624	$3.19 ₫83,979	-27.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩71,010	$6.64 ₫175K	-85.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩40M	$33,225.24 ₫874M	+25.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,542	$5.90 ₫155K	-29.2%
Average			-29.2%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.8% less for housing

	South Korea	Vietnam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩32,641	$8.68 ₫228K	-60.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩713K	$310.38 ₫8M	-34.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩538K	$223.57 ₫6M	-37.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩200K	$43.27 ₫1M	-67.3%
Average			-49.8%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of housing

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pay 33.0% less for childcare

	South Korea	Vietnam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩570K	$199.23 ₫5M	-47.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩23M	$12,262.04 ₫323M	-18.6%
Average			-33.0%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.5% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Vietnam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,694	$0.93 ₫24,496	-70.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,371	$1.60 ₫42,052	-55.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,793	$1.28 ₫33,636	-59.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩75,055	$20.38 ₫536K	-59.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩15,231	$3.19 ₫84,041	-68.4%
Average			-62.5%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.2% less for clothing

	South Korea	Vietnam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩100K	$31.66 ₫833K	-52.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩76,294	$21.29 ₫560K	-58.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩109K	$72.72 ₫2M
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩155K	$77.26 ₫2M	-25.2%
Average			-45.2%

South Korea vs. Vietnam - 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: March 2026

Compare further: South Korea vs. Vietnam

Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics

Make 72.9% less money in Vietnam

Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 3.3 times smaller than Vietnam.

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