Cost of Living in Seoul

Summary of cost of living in Seoul, South Korea:

  • The estimated monthly costs for a family of four are 5,478.4C$ (5,660,133.5₩), excluding rent (using our estimator).
  • The estimated monthly costs for a single person are 1,482.1C$ (1,531,248.3₩), excluding rent.
  • Seoul is 11.9% more expensive than Montreal (excluding rent, see our cost of living index).
  • Rent in Seoul is, on average, 20.6% lower than in Montreal.
Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal at an Inexpensive Restaurant 12,000.00 ₩ 9,000.00-18,000.00
Meal for Two at a Mid-Range Restaurant (Three Courses, Without Drinks) 80,000.00 ₩ 50,000.00-150,000.00
Combo Meal at McDonald's (or Equivalent Fast-Food Meal) 9,000.00 ₩ 8,000.00-10,000.00
Domestic Draft Beer (0.5 Liter) 5,000.00 ₩ 3,000.00-7,000.00
Imported Beer (0.33 Liter Bottle) 8,000.00 ₩ 5,000.00-10,000.00
Cappuccino (Regular Size) 5,300.00 ₩ 4,000.00-6,800.00
Soft Drink (Coca-Cola or Pepsi, 0.33 Liter Bottle) 2,294.29 ₩ 2,000.00-3,500.00
Bottled Water (0.33 Liter) 1,103.12 ₩ 1,000.00-2,000.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (Regular, 1 Liter) 2,951.64 ₩ 2,000.00-4,000.00
Fresh White Bread (500 g Loaf) 4,572.92 ₩ 2,600.00-8,000.00
White Rice (1 kg) 4,420.00 ₩ 2,500.00-7,244.70
Eggs (12, Large Size) 3,965.64 ₩ 2,400.00-7,200.00
Local Cheese (1 kg) 19,233.61 ₩ 10,080.00-50,000.00
Chicken Fillets (1 kg) 14,544.55 ₩ 6,000.00-20,000.00
Beef Round or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat (1 kg) 45,692.55 ₩ 21,000.00-70,000.00
Apples (1 kg) 10,700.91 ₩ 7,000.00-18,000.00
Bananas (1 kg) 4,749.09 ₩ 3,000.00-8,200.00
Oranges (1 kg) 7,835.20 ₩ 3,500.00-15,000.00
Tomatoes (1 kg) 8,890.50 ₩ 4,200.00-13,000.00
Potatoes (1 kg) 5,209.81 ₩ 2,000.00-6,750.00
Onions (1 kg) 4,076.33 ₩ 2,000.00-6,980.00
Lettuce (1 Head) 3,510.00 ₩ 2,000.00-5,795.76
Bottled Water (1.5 Liter) 1,678.57 ₩ 1,000.00-2,000.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 29,000.00 ₩ 15,000.00-45,000.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 Liter Bottle) 3,131.67 ₩ 2,000.00-5,600.00
Imported Beer (0.33 Liter Bottle) 4,613.33 ₩ 2,500.00-8,000.00
Cigarettes (Pack of 20, Marlboro) 4,500.00 ₩ 4,500.00-7,000.00
Transportation
Edit
One-Way Ticket (Local Transport) 1,500.00 ₩ 1,400.00-1,600.00
Monthly Public Transport Pass (Regular Price) 65,000.00 ₩ 60,000.00-90,000.00
Taxi Start (Standard Tariff) 4,800.00 ₩ 4,300.00-6,000.00
Taxi 1 km (Standard Tariff) 1,310.00 ₩ 800.00-2,500.00
Taxi 1 Hour Waiting (Standard Tariff) 12,000.00 ₩ 10,200.00-12,000.00
Gasoline (1 Liter) 1,654.16 ₩ 1,600.00-1,800.00
Volkswagen Golf 1.5 (or Equivalent New Compact Car) 35,435,000.00 ₩ 33,700,000.00-40,000,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6 (or Equivalent New Mid-Size Car) 34,078,000.00 ₩ 30,000,000.00-39,490,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic Utilities for 85 m2 Apartment (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) 215,811.32 ₩ 125,925.93-340,000.00
Mobile Phone Plan (Monthly, with Calls and 10GB+ Data) 45,833.53 ₩ 25,000.00-80,000.00
Broadband Internet (Unlimited Data, 60 Mbps or Higher) 28,640.91 ₩ 20,000.00-40,000.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Monthly Fitness Club Membership 82,370.72 ₩ 40,000.00-200,000.00
Tennis Court Rental (1 Hour, Weekend) 29,454.55 ₩ 8,000.00-44,000.00
Cinema Ticket (International Release) 15,000.00 ₩ 13,500.00-18,000.00
Childcare
Edit
Private Full-Day Preschool or Kindergarten, Monthly Fee per Child 549,040.45 ₩ 280,000.00-2,000,000.00
International Primary School, Annual Tuition per Child 30,760,000.00 ₩ 20,000,000.00-42,000,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
Jeans (Levi's 501 or Similar) 72,187.50 ₩ 50,000.00-100,000.00
Summer Dress in a Chain Store (e.g. Zara or H&M) 57,288.24 ₩ 45,000.00-90,000.00
Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 111,921.05 ₩ 80,000.00-160,000.00
Men's Leather Business Shoes 138,153.85 ₩ 100,000.00-200,000.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
1 Bedroom Apartment in City Centre 1,289,047.62 ₩ 1,000,000.00-2,500,000.00
1 Bedroom Apartment Outside of City Centre 792,070.00 ₩ 500,000.00-1,200,000.00
3 Bedroom Apartment in City Centre 2,902,315.79 ₩ 2,200,000.00-5,000,000.00
3 Bedroom Apartment Outside of City Centre 1,593,157.89 ₩ 1,200,000.00-2,800,000.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre 31,336,538.46 ₩ 20,000,000.00-52,000,000.00
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 16,564,000.00 ₩ 10,000,000.00-26,000,000.00
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 4,659,639.22 ₩
Annual Mortgage Interest Rate (20-Year Fixed, in %) 4.05 3.50-4.50

Prices in Seoul

This city had 1837 entries in the past 12 months by 240 different contributors.
Last update: 13 November 2025
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
Salary Calculator:Got a job offer in Seoul? Estimate your take-home pay with our Salary Calculator for Seoul.
  
  
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24 Comments so far
Joong Hyun Kim on Aug 31, 2025:
In general water in Restaurants of Korea is free. Musinsa is quite expensive internet mall. Instead, Cupang provide a cheaper jean provides.
LevelNew on Aug 21, 2025:
Seoul is so cheap and it's not bad to leave.
Anonymous on Jul 21, 2025:
I think 130,000,000 KRW pre-tax is still enough. Most Seoul people can't make that much money
Bumsu Kim on Nov 04, 2024:
If you make 130,000,000 KRW after paying tax, yes it's super nice. But if you make 130,000,000 KRW and didn't pay the tax yet, I doubt you can enjoy the Korea fully. You can still, but not too much.
ahahaha on Aug 03, 2024:
yeah that exchange rate is true but you can't really be a millionaire with just 5663000krw in korea
Aya on Jun 26, 2024:
Is this true? I am a Tunisian person and I was shocked by the difference between the two currencies. Is 5,663,058.7₩ really 12,747 dinars? Is it true? if it's true i will be a millionere in korea i hope someone answer me
hifi on May 16, 2024:
It's interesting to compare it to London, but it's nonsense that the overall living costs are only 10% different. It's almost double... It seems like a full statistical review is needed.
hifi on May 16, 2024:
I didn't look at it in detail, but it's okay that Volkswagen is the model car compared Seoul to Tokyo, but why are you comparing Toyota... Buying a car from your own country is the cheapest locally, so buying a Hyundai in Seoul would be cheaper than buying a Toyota in Tokyo. ...There appears to be a statistical error.
And in Korea, if you change from a bus to a subway, the next fare is free. It would be unreasonable to expect such details to be reflected.
Jw lee on Mar 30, 2024:
Normally its true. But some part of the items such as price of apartment is little over evaluated than the fact. Even the price is higher its about 10000 dollars fer square meters not 19000 dollars in the city.
ccmcya on Jan 17, 2024:
It's something I always feel, but there are still a lot of people who play it as a price prank. The system has changed now, so I don't put it into the statistics randomly, but most of them are high-priced items that I still don't see around. There are basically 30 sets of eggs distributed in Korea. 30 are usually W6,000, and the mart I go to often always weighs W5,700 ($4.2) over 1.8 kg of 30. Antibiotic-free or high grade eggs are over $6. Expensive grade is not a normal price. 12 eggs (only 10, 15, and 30 packages exist to be exact) at $3.5 is just an expensive grade egg. There are so many ridiculously expensive items such as beer prices and bottled water prices.
Julius kireki on Oct 12, 2023:
Am in Kenya and I would like to supply banana from Kenya please give me an avenue to the same
Korean on Aug 26, 2022:
"A single person estimated monthly costs are 1,432,775.68₩ without rent."

This is just nonsense. There is no way, it costs this much to live in Seoul. A rather reasonable number would be around 800,000 to 1,000,000KRW
Anonymous on Jul 26, 2022:
I’m curious is a 130,000,000 KRW ($100,000) salary in Seoul enough to live nice?
Anonymous on Jun 11, 2022:
Apartment prices in Seoul for the past four years
It went up very high
When purchasing an apartment in Seoul, the price per m² is about 40,000 dollars, and the center of Gangnam-gu is about 65,000 dollars per m²
Peter Kim on May 21, 2022:
As for the property price, it is rising rapidly. To rant a flat you would need large amount of deposit. It starts from around 8500 USD = 10,000,000KRW depend on size and location. Also, there is Korean unique ranting system, namely 'Jeonse', which need far more deposit (60~70% of the property price) but there's no monthly rental fee so it is popular option if you have some spare money.
Contract period is usually 2years and you have right to extend once.
Peter Kim on May 21, 2022:
I am a upper middle class in Seoul. And compare to Berlin and Sydney cost of living here is much higher especially fresh fruits and meat products. But it is quite safe city with low crime rate. And services are very fast. Free wifi is available virtually everywhere. If you leave a MacBook on a table in a Cafe nobody touches it. Women can stroll around safely midnight. In a nutshell it is convenient city if you have enough budget.
Anonymous on Nov 28, 2021:
I am a Korean who is very upset about the price of meat. Pork is $3 for 100g and this is crazy. I am very dissatisfied because I eat meat like a North American.
J on Jun 19, 2021:
Say goodbye to fruits and vegetables and eggs then you are good to go.
Anonymous on Feb 14, 2021:
Average mid class here, moved to seoul 10 years ago, getting 40k a year working in a small company, family of 4 (2children),great health and transportation system, can't complain so far except its overpopulated and the air quality is not good.
Anonymous on Jan 23, 2021:
Totally accurate. Been living in Gangnam for 4 years. Rent is dependent on your key money.
Anonymous on Jan 21, 2021:
I'm looking for identical twin Seoul women to live with me.They must be gorgeous intelligent and calm.One set of twins will do and in their early 20's.
Anonymous on Jan 02, 2021:
Yes Seoul is more expensive than other countries but you get what you pay for. Seoul is a very nice and developed city full of progression,a modern city.If you're looking for cities on a budget try Cambodia, Vietnam, or Bangkok.But none of those cities can compare with Seoul's modern and efficient transportation systems and only Japan comes close.
Seoulsaram on Nov 27, 2020:
You should know about the amount of deposit when you are trying to get a rent room in Korea. It is quite massive than other countries. That's a trade off for relatively cheap rent price.
Seoul Song on Oct 29, 2020:
Everything is quite correct but apartment price.
It is increased a lot for last a year