Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Sweden Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 9.7% more expensive than Sweden overall.

Restaurants: pay 52.4% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 35.1% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 41.2% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 26.6% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.0% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 18.6% less in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Sweden Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.4% less for restaurants

	Sweden	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.38 SEK135.13	$6.72 ₩9,907	-53.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.04 SEK103.80	$5.50 ₩8,102	-50.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.58 SEK24.30	$1.47 ₩2,161	-43.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22 SEK20.85	$0.82 ₩1,216	-62.8%
Average			-52.4%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.1% more for groceries

	Sweden	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.88 SEK27.05	$2.87 ₩4,235	-0.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.00 SEK56.41	$5.63 ₩8,290	-6.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.33 SEK59.53	$7.67 ₩11,311	+21.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.34 SEK40.79	$2.84 ₩4,180	-34.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.57 SEK52.34	$3.34 ₩4,917	-40.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 SEK13.27	$3.24 ₩4,768	+129.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.21 SEK11.37	$1.39 ₩2,045	+14.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 SEK12.78	$2.80 ₩4,121	+105.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.97 SEK18.56	$2.40 ₩3,543	+21.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SEK7.51	$1.78 ₩2,627	+123.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 SEK7.45	$1.20 ₩1,775	+51.9%
Average			+35.1%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.2% less for transportation

	Sweden	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.32 SEK68.82	$4.40 ₩6,485	-39.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.92 SEK770.06	$47.17 ₩69,524	-42.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,594.19 SEK297,001.19	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	-16.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.67 SEK231.92	$8.33 ₩12,280	-66.2%
Average			-41.2%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.6% less for housing

	Sweden	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$37.43 SEK351.83	$21.68 ₩31,958	-42.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.32 SEK8,801.88	$473.91 ₩698,442	-49.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$720.46 SEK6,772.72	$357.19 ₩526,420	-50.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.92 SEK920.46	$132.53 ₩195,326	+35.4%
Average			-26.6%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Sweden	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$155.59 SEK1,462.61	$378.52 ₩557,869	+143.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,116.05 SEK38,692.91	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+265.8%
Average			+204.6%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Sweden	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.74 SEK72.78	$3.12 ₩4,595	-59.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.56 SEK42.87	$3.57 ₩5,258	-21.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.64 SEK71.85	$3.18 ₩4,693	-58.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.09 SEK414.45	$49.86 ₩73,483	+13.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.46 SEK154.71	$10.12 ₩14,912	-38.5%
Average			-33.0%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.6% less for clothing

	Sweden	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$94.86 SEK891.76	$66.46 ₩97,948	-29.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.53 SEK399.76	$50.68 ₩74,697	+19.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$106.79 SEK1,003.91	$72.74 ₩107,204	-31.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$151.29 SEK1,422.20	$103.23 ₩152,146	-31.8%
Average			-18.6%

Sweden vs. South Korea - 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

Sweden vs.

Australia

Sweden vs.

China

Sweden vs.

Peru

Sweden vs.

Germany

Sweden vs.

Vietnam

Sweden vs.

Spain

Sweden vs.

Thailand

Sweden vs.

Russia

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 Sweden

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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