Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 5.8 times more expensive than Tonga overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 50.8% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 73.2% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 37.9% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 31.4 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.5% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 3.6 times more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.2% less for restaurants

	Tonga	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$6.72 ₩9,907	-19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$5.50 ₩8,102	-47.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$1.47 ₩2,161	-48.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.82 ₩1,216	-66.4%
Average			-45.2%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.8% more for groceries

	Tonga	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$2.87 ₩4,235	+176.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$5.63 ₩8,290	+25.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$7.67 ₩11,311	+29.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.84 ₩4,180	-44.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$3.34 ₩4,917	+25.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$3.24 ₩4,768	+157.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.39 ₩2,045	+10.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$2.80 ₩4,121	+112.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$2.40 ₩3,543	+41.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$1.78 ₩2,627	+23.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$1.20 ₩1,775	+0.9%
Average			+50.8%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.2% more for transportation

	Tonga	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$4.40 ₩6,485	-20.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$47.17 ₩69,524	+13.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	+354.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$8.33 ₩12,280	-55.4%
Average			+73.2%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.9% less for housing

	Tonga	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$21.68 ₩31,958	-82.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$473.91 ₩698,442	-23.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$357.19 ₩526,420
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$132.53 ₩195,326	-7.3%
Average			-37.9%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.4 times more for childcare

	Tonga	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$378.52 ₩557,869	+139.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+5941.6%
Average			+3040.7%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Tonga	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$3.12 ₩4,595	-6.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$3.57 ₩5,258	+22.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$3.18 ₩4,693	-68.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$49.86 ₩73,483	+60.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$10.12 ₩14,912	-75.6%
Average			-13.5%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6 times more for clothing

	Tonga	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$66.46 ₩97,948	+357.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$50.68 ₩74,697	+187.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$72.74 ₩107,204	+250.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$103.23 ₩152,146	+255.1%
Average			+262.4%

Tonga 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

Tonga vs.

Italy

Tonga vs.

Egypt

Tonga vs.

France

Tonga vs.

Germany

Tonga vs.

United Kingdom

Tonga vs.

Canada

Tonga vs.

Australia

Tonga vs.

Thailand

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Nuku'alofa 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 Tonga

Add prices for South Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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