Cost of living comparison

 Hanoi, Vietnam
compared to
 Seoul, South Korea
Seoul vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 2.3 times more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants
pay 3.0 times more in Seoul
Groceries
pay 2.8 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
Housing
pay 2.4 times more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 63.8% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 43.9% more in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.98
₫51,757
$7.88
₩10,734
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.75
₫124,216
$6.09
₩8,295
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.44
₫11,593
$1.59
₩2,162

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pay 2.8 times more for groceries

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.03
₫26,906
$3.10
₩4,217
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.00
₫130,905
$6.52
₩8,889
Milk (1 gallon) $5.30
₫138,684
$8.06
₩10,980

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.47
₫90,748
$4.59
₩6,252
Monthly public transit pass $7.91
₫207,027
$44.40
₩60,503
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $39,554.95
₫1,035,133,233
$27,023.07
₩36,819,978

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$9.00
₫235,629
$22.27
₩30,349
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $338.66
₫8,862,623
$883.18
₩1,203,366
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $239.31
₫6,262,556
$490.54
₩668,379

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pay 63.8% more for childcare

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $243.92
₫6,383,322
$385.48
₩525,232
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,260.72
₫320,856,798
$20,782.92
₩28,317,532

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pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.99
₫25,878
$3.58
₩4,879
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.83
₫47,974
$3.60
₩4,908
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.38
₫36,230
$3.22
₩4,391

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pay 43.9% more for clothing

 
Hanoi
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$36.72
₫960,977
$59.13
₩80,564
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$26.37
₫690,089
$46.64
₩63,555
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.93
₫2,431,951
$86.69
₩118,123

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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: July 2025
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