Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 0.1% cheaper than Tokyo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.3% more in Seoul
- Groceries
-
pay 24.9% more in Seoul
- Transportation
-
pay 22.9% less in Seoul
- Housing
-
pay 16.9% less in Seoul
- Childcare
-
pay 6.3% more in Seoul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.7% less in Seoul
- Clothing
-
pay 3.6% more in Seoul
The cost of groceries, restaurants, childcare, and clothing in Seoul are more expensive than in Tokyo. Expenses including transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Seoul.
Seoul vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Tokyo, you would:
pay 16.3% more for restaurants
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.02
¥1,249
|
$8.49
₩12,520
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.01
¥781
|
$6.30
₩9,286
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.16
¥181
|
$1.64
₩2,416
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.84
¥131
|
$0.78
₩1,151
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.9% more for groceries
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.55
¥242
|
$3.24
₩4,774
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.21
¥1,123
|
$6.79
₩10,016
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.71
¥890
|
$7.85
₩11,571
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
¥363
|
$2.93
₩4,323
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.52
¥548
|
$4.67
₩6,883
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.38
¥370
|
$3.45
₩5,080
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
¥184
|
$1.52
₩2,247
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.48
¥386
|
$2.35
₩3,467
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.64
¥411
|
$2.77
₩4,088
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
¥222
|
$1.62
₩2,388
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.48
¥231
|
$1.30
₩1,913
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 22.9% less for transportation
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.50
¥701
|
$4.43
₩6,533
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$73.51
¥11,449
|
$45.99
₩67,816
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
$25,072.36
₩36,969,950
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$30.07
¥4,684
|
$10.50
₩15,483
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 16.9% less for housing
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.44
¥5,209
|
$20.56
₩30,311
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,071.65
¥166,915
|
$925.55
₩1,364,758
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$642.24
¥100,032
|
$559.33
₩824,748
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.16
¥19,027
|
$118.88
₩175,294
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 6.3% more for childcare
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$519.69
¥80,944
|
$360.15
₩531,049
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,131.74
¥2,356,844
|
$21,667.04
₩31,948,695
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 11.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.01
¥624
|
$3.54
₩5,217
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.43
¥534
|
$3.70
₩5,453
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.01
¥624
|
$3.18
₩4,695
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.19
¥10,621
|
$56.34
₩83,069
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.70
¥1,978
|
$10.61
₩15,650
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.6% more for clothing
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.84
¥8,853
|
$49.77
₩73,380
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.48
¥6,306
|
$39.49
₩58,230
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$62.67
¥9,762
|
$74.94
₩110,505
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.37
¥14,076
|
$99.06
₩146,064
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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
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