Cost of living comparison

 Rome, Italy
compared to
 Busan, South Korea
Busan vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 10.0% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 27.8% less in Busan
Groceries
pay 95.9% more in Busan
Transportation
pay 15.8% less in Busan
Housing
pay 54.1% less in Busan
Childcare
pay 12.6% more in Busan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.4% more in Busan
Clothing
pay 48.0% more in Busan

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

Busan vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Busan instead of Rome, you would:

pay 27.8% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.08
€14.40
$6.45
₩9,018
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.72
€9.60
$5.91
₩8,267
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.23
€2.00
$1.84
₩2,568

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pay 95.9% more for groceries

 
Rome
Busan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.78
€1.60
$3.58
₩5,010
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.00
€6.27
$5.10
₩7,140
Milk (1 gallon) $6.20
€5.55
$8.49
₩11,875

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pay 15.8% less for transportation

 
Rome
Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.15
€6.40
$4.38
₩6,134
Monthly public transit pass $37.51
€33.61
$42.97
₩60,123
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,794.08
€24,004.57
$27,023.07
₩37,808,512

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pay 54.1% less for housing

 
Rome
Busan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$29.46
€26.39
$16.11
₩22,546
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,180.31
€1,057.43
$471.50
₩659,686
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $763.10
€683.65
$286.48
₩400,822

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pay 12.6% more for childcare

 
Rome
Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $508.83
€455.86
$477.47
₩668,036
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,490.67
€9,398.50
$13,786.91
₩19,289,546

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pay 11.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.36
€4.80
$3.58
₩5,010
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.53
€1.37
$3.82
₩5,348
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.43
€5.76
$3.22
₩4,509

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pay 48.0% more for clothing

 
Rome
Busan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.43
€58.62
$100.27
₩140,288
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.74
€27.54
$64.46
₩90,185
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$77.17
€69.13
$90.24
₩126,259

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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: May 2025
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See the cost of living in Italy vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Italy and South Korea.

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