Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 4.3% more expensive than Tokyo.
Seoul vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Tokyo, you would:
pay 21.5% more for restaurants
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.59
¥1,191
|
$8.96
₩11,854
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.06
¥794
|
$7.46
₩9,879
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
¥257
|
$1.58
₩2,094
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.89
¥139
|
$0.79
₩1,040
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 37.0% more for groceries
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
¥268
|
$3.10
₩4,100
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.29
¥830
|
$8.84
₩11,699
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.75
¥902
|
$7.79
₩10,315
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.26
¥355
|
$3.61
₩4,772
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.08
¥483
|
$4.74
₩6,275
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.15
¥337
|
$3.46
₩4,585
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
¥168
|
$1.57
₩2,073
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
¥307
|
$2.59
₩3,433
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.39
¥375
|
$2.83
₩3,750
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.53
¥240
|
$1.66
₩2,193
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
¥229
|
$1.16
₩1,529
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 0.2% less for transportation
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.08
¥640
|
$5.53
₩7,322
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.27
¥9,924
|
$46.28
₩61,248
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,725.38
¥3M
|
$29,385.60
₩39M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$28.47
¥4,466
|
$8.51
₩11,262
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 14.4% less for housing
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.33
¥4,758
|
$20.82
₩27,553
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,280.34
¥201K
|
$886.39
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$692.48
¥109K
|
$620.25
₩821K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.45
¥17,796
|
$162.69
₩215K
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 33.4% more for childcare
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,341.43
¥210K
|
$1,927.59
₩3M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,252.10
¥3M
|
$22,602.27
₩30M
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 5.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.80
¥595
|
$3.73
₩4,939
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.56
¥559
|
$4.10
₩5,427
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.92
¥615
|
$3.36
₩4,445
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.31
¥10,401
|
$58.22
₩77,054
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.65
¥1,985
|
$11.20
₩14,818
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.8% more for clothing
|
Tokyo
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.50
¥8,706
|
$57.88
₩76,606
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.95
¥5,169
|
$32.77
₩43,375
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$65.04
¥10,203
|
$69.99
₩92,632
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$70.74
¥11,097
|
$82.45
₩109K
|
|
Tokyo vs. Seoul - 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. Seoul
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See the
cost of living in Japan vs. South Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Japan and South Korea.
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