Cost of living comparison

Iran

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Tehran Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 3.3 times more expensive than Tehran.

Restaurants: pay 90.8% more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 4.3 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 4.3 times more in Seoul
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 12.5 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.4 times more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 5.6% more in Seoul

The cost of childcare, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in Seoul are more expensive than in Tehran. Notably, childcare, transportation, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Planning a move to South Korea? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Seoul vs. Tehran Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Tehran, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 90.8% more for restaurants

	Tehran	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.75 IRR5M	$8.96 ₩12,215	+138.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.00 IRR5M	$7.46 ₩10,179	+86.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 IRR706K	$1.58 ₩2,158	+208.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69 IRR2M	$0.79 ₩1,072	-53.5%
Average			+90.8%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.3 times more for groceries

	Tehran	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.59 IRR816K	$3.10 ₩4,224	+421.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.21 IRR3M	$8.84 ₩12,055	+299.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.57 IRR4M	$7.79 ₩10,629	+203.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.25 IRR2M	$3.61 ₩4,917	+188.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 IRR2M	$4.74 ₩6,466	+210.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.62 IRR848K	$3.46 ₩4,724	+461.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 IRR1M	$1.57 ₩2,136	+82.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.53 IRR726K	$2.59 ₩3,537	+390.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IRR414K	$2.83 ₩3,864	+840.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 IRR357K	$1.66 ₩2,259	+537.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 IRR304K	$1.16 ₩1,575	+422.3%
Average			+328.2%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.3 times more for transportation

	Tehran	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$0.34 IRR462K	$5.53 ₩7,545	+1545.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.50 IRR8M	$46.28 ₩63,112	+741.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,000.00 IRR69B	$29,385.60 ₩40M	-41.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.90 IRR4M	$8.51 ₩11,604	+193.4%
Average			+331.0%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Tehran	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$3.70 IRR5M	$20.82 ₩28,392	+462.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$425.52 IRR585M	$886.39 ₩1M	+108.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$266.92 IRR367M	$620.25 ₩846K	+132.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$9.95 IRR14M	$162.69 ₩222K	+1534.8%
Average			+211.5%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.5 times more for childcare

	Tehran	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$107.76 IRR148M	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+1688.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,581.80 IRR4B	$22,602.27 ₩31M	+775.4%
Average			+1151.4%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	Tehran	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.70 IRR962K	$3.73 ₩5,090	+433.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.36 IRR2M	$4.10 ₩5,593	+202.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.50 IRR3M	$3.36 ₩4,581	+34.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.59 IRR34M	$58.22 ₩79,399	+136.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.00 IRR3M	$11.20 ₩15,269	+459.8%
Average			+242.7%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.6% more for clothing

	Tehran	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.60 IRR37M	$57.88 ₩78,937	+117.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 IRR52M	$32.77 ₩44,695	-13.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.55 IRR160M	$69.99 ₩95,451	-39.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$75.17 IRR103M	$82.45 ₩112K	+9.7%
Average			+5.6%

Tehran vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Tehran vs. Seoul

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Seoul?

Size Comparison · See true size

Tehran is around the same size as Seoul.

More cost comparisons

Tehran vs.

Paris

Tehran vs.

Bangkok

Tehran vs.

London

Tehran vs.

Quito

Tehran vs.

Dublin

Tehran vs.

Moscow

Tehran vs.

Berlin

Tehran vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iran vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iran and South Korea.

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 Tehran

Add prices for Seoul

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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