Cost of living comparison
compared to
P'yongyang vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary
P'yongyang is 66.6% cheaper than Tokyo.
P'yongyang vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in P'yongyang instead of Tokyo, you would:
pay 43.8% more for restaurants
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.59
¥1,200
|
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.06
¥800
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
¥259
|
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.89
¥140
|
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
|
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.8% less for groceries
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
¥270
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.29
¥836
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.75
¥909
|
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.26
¥358
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.08
¥487
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.15
¥340
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
¥170
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
¥309
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.39
¥377
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.53
¥241
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
¥231
|
?? | |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.08
¥645
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.27
¥9,997
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,725.38
¥3M
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$28.47
¥4,499
|
?? |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of transportation
pay 90.5% less for housing
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.33
¥4,793
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,280.34
¥202K
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$692.48
¥109K
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.45
¥17,926
|
?? | |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,341.43
¥212K
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,252.10
¥3M
|
?? |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of childcare
pay 8.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.80
¥600
|
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.56
¥563
|
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.92
¥620
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.31
¥10,478
|
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.65
¥1,999
|
?? | |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Tokyo
|
P'yongyang
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.50
¥8,770
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.95
¥5,207
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$65.04
¥10,278
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$70.74
¥11,178
|
?? |
Tokyo vs. P'yongyang - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Tokyo vs. P'yongyang
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cost of living in Japan vs. North Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Japan and North Korea.
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