Cost of living comparison

 Bangkok, Thailand
compared to
 Seoul, South Korea
Seoul vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 48.8% more expensive than Bangkok.

Restaurants
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 14.5% less in Seoul
Housing
pay 65.0% more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 9.2% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.1% more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 16.4% more in Seoul

The cost of restaurants, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and childcare in Seoul are more expensive than in Bangkok. Notably, restaurants and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.91
THB97.17
$7.88
₩11,174
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.83
THB194.33
$6.09
₩8,635
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.62
THB20.54
$1.59
₩2,251

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.52
THB50.78
$3.10
₩4,390
Local cheese (8 oz) $11.74
THB391.60
$6.52
₩9,253
Milk (1 gallon) $7.32
THB244.12
$8.06
₩11,430

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pay 14.5% less for transportation

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.47
THB148.95
$4.59
₩6,508
Monthly public transit pass $39.32
THB1,311.73
$44.40
₩62,983
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $55,345.18
THB1,846,145.10
$27,023.07
₩38,329,246

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pay 65.0% more for housing

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$15.36
THB512.36
$22.27
₩31,593
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $571.31
THB19,056.98
$883.18
₩1,252,692
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $301.88
THB10,069.88
$490.54
₩695,776

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pay 9.2% more for childcare

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $632.63
THB21,102.71
$385.48
₩546,762
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,191.37
THB440,023.45
$20,782.92
₩29,478,281

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pay 23.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.33
THB77.73
$3.58
₩5,079
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.58
THB86.18
$3.60
₩5,109
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.20
THB140.16
$3.22
₩4,571

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pay 16.4% more for clothing

 
Bangkok
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$55.27
THB1,843.58
$59.13
₩83,866
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.84
THB1,162.12
$46.64
₩66,160
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$97.10
THB3,238.82
$86.69
₩122,965

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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: April 2025
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