Cost of living comparison

Seoul, South Korea

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 17.1% cheaper than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 46.9% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 52.4% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 23.9% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 25.8% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 54.1% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.4% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 9.3% less in Beijing

Expenses including groceries, restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.9% less for restaurants

	Seoul	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.88 ₩10,760	$4.17 CN¥29.97	-47.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.09 ₩8,314	$5.57 CN¥39.97	-8.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.59 ₩2,167	$0.50 CN¥3.56	-68.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ₩1,148	$0.31 CN¥2.22	-63.2%
Average			-46.9%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.4% less for groceries

	Seoul	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,227	$1.43 CN¥10.30	-53.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.52 ₩8,910	$7.31 CN¥52.47	+12.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.06 ₩11,005	$7.17 CN¥51.48	-11.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.06 ₩4,177	$1.74 CN¥12.48	-43.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,469	$1.53 CN¥10.99	-67.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ₩4,504	$0.92 CN¥6.59	-72.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,116	$0.71 CN¥5.11	-54.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.44 ₩3,333	$0.89 CN¥6.37	-63.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.68 ₩3,667	$0.58 CN¥4.18	-78.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 ₩2,364	$0.37 CN¥2.65	-78.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩1,894	$0.47 CN¥3.38	-66.0%
Average			-52.4%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.9% less for transportation

	Seoul	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.59 ₩6,266	$4.36 CN¥31.31	-5.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$44.40 ₩60,645	$33.40 CN¥239.80	-24.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,023.07 ₩36,906,200	$20,872.18 CN¥149,874.77	-22.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.02 ₩10,955	$4.59 CN¥32.97	-42.8%
Average			-23.9%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.8% less for housing

	Seoul	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.27 ₩30,420	$13.28 CN¥95.38	-40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$883.18 ₩1,206,184	$929.88 CN¥6,677.08	+5.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$490.54 ₩669,944	$492.44 CN¥3,536.03	+0.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$133.35 ₩182,124	$42.04 CN¥301.87	-68.5%
Average			-25.8%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 54.1% more for childcare

	Seoul	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$385.48 ₩526,462	$763.49 CN¥5,482.35	+98.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,782.92 ₩28,383,844	$22,913.01 CN¥164,529.19	+10.2%
Average			+54.1%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.58 ₩4,891	$1.11 CN¥7.99	-68.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 ₩4,919	$3.60 CN¥25.87
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.22 ₩4,402	$3.48 CN¥24.98	+7.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.73 ₩73,379	$65.46 CN¥470.02	+21.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.74 ₩14,672	$8.35 CN¥59.95	-22.3%
Average			-15.4%

Seoul vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.3% less for clothing

	Seoul	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.13 ₩80,752	$62.65 CN¥449.90	+6.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 ₩63,704	$34.69 CN¥249.07	-25.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.69 ₩118,399	$83.45 CN¥599.24	-3.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.89 ₩170,567	$107.64 CN¥772.89	-13.8%
Average			-9.3%

Seoul vs. Beijing - 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: May 2025

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