Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 52.0% cheaper than Zurich.

Restaurants: pay 75.3% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 3.6% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 53.5% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 61.8% less in Seoul
Childcare: pay 70.5% less in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.4% less in Seoul
Clothing: pay 50.9% less in Seoul

Expenses including restaurants, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing are lower in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.3% less for restaurants

	Zurich	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.30 CHF25.08	$8.49 ₩11,772	-72.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$21.28 CHF17.06	$6.30 ₩8,731	-70.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$6.01 CHF4.82	$1.64 ₩2,272	-72.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$5.24 CHF4.20	$0.78 ₩1,082	-85.1%
Average			-75.3%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.6% more for groceries

	Zurich	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$3.30 CHF2.64	$3.24 ₩4,489	-1.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.81 CHF11.87	$6.79 ₩9,418	-54.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.35 CHF6.70	$7.85 ₩10,880	-6.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.29 CHF5.84	$2.93 ₩4,065	-59.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.64 CHF11.73	$4.67 ₩6,472	-68.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 CHF1.49	$3.45 ₩4,777	+84.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.34 CHF1.08	$1.52 ₩2,113	+13.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 CHF1.17	$2.35 ₩3,260	+60.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 CHF1.97	$2.77 ₩3,844	+12.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 CHF0.98	$1.62 ₩2,245	+32.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 CHF0.83	$1.30 ₩1,798	+25.2%
Average			+3.6%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.5% less for transportation

	Zurich	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.63 CHF6.92	$4.43 ₩6,143	-48.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$108.91 CHF87.28	$45.99 ₩63,764	-57.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,061.59 CHF32,907.09	$25,072.36 ₩35M	-38.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$33.55 CHF26.89	$10.50 ₩14,558	-68.7%
Average			-53.5%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.8% less for housing

	Zurich	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.74 CHF47.88	$20.56 ₩28,500	-65.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,666.50 CHF2,136.95	$925.55 ₩1M	-65.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,285.53 CHF1,831.64	$559.33 ₩775K	-75.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$200.77 CHF160.90	$118.88 ₩165K	-40.8%
Average			-61.8%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 70.5% less for childcare

	Zurich	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$3,558.15 CHF2,851.53	$360.15 ₩499K	-89.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$44,295.61 CHF35,498.86	$21,667.04 ₩30M	-51.1%
Average			-70.5%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 55.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Zurich	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.02 CHF8.03	$3.54 ₩4,905	-64.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.91 CHF5.54	$3.70 ₩5,127	-46.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.27 CHF9.03	$3.18 ₩4,414	-71.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.77 CHF71.14	$56.34 ₩78,106	-36.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$25.04 CHF20.07	$10.61 ₩14,715	-57.6%
Average			-55.4%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.9% less for clothing

	Zurich	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$137.88 CHF110.50	$49.77 ₩68,996	-63.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.35 CHF47.56	$39.49 ₩54,751	-33.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$159.90 CHF128.14	$74.94 ₩104K	-53.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$210.59 CHF168.77	$99.06 ₩137K	-53.0%
Average			-50.9%

Zurich vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing

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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: August 2026

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