Cost of living comparison

Seoul, South Korea

compared to

Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 68.4% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 88.8% more in Wellington
Groceries: pay 15.1% less in Wellington
Transportation: pay 95.3% more in Wellington
Housing: pay 96.2% more in Wellington
Childcare: pay 43.5% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5 times more in Wellington
Clothing: pay 22.0% more in Wellington

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

Wellington vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 88.8% more for restaurants

	Seoul	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.88 ₩11,332	$14.93 NZ$25.03	+89.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.09 ₩8,756	$8.96 NZ$15.02	+47.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.59 ₩2,282	$2.57 NZ$4.31	+62.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ₩1,209	$2.15 NZ$3.61	+156.3%
Average			+88.8%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.1% less for groceries

	Seoul	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,452	$1.96 NZ$3.29	-36.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.52 ₩9,384	$4.15 NZ$6.95	-36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.06 ₩11,591	$6.98 NZ$11.70	-13.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.06 ₩4,399	$6.84 NZ$11.47	+123.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,813	$5.06 NZ$8.48	+6.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ₩4,743	$1.40 NZ$2.34	-57.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,229	$1.09 NZ$1.83	-29.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.44 ₩3,511	$1.48 NZ$2.47	-39.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.68 ₩3,862	$2.61 NZ$4.38	-2.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 ₩2,489	$1.01 NZ$1.70	-41.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩1,995	$0.84 NZ$1.41	-39.5%
Average			-15.1%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 95.3% more for transportation

	Seoul	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.59 ₩6,599	$6.42 NZ$10.76	+39.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$44.40 ₩63,870	$127.57 NZ$213.82	+187.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,023.07 ₩38,868,985	$34,339.84 NZ$57,559.24	+27.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.02 ₩11,538	$18.22 NZ$30.53	+127.1%
Average			+95.3%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 96.2% more for housing

	Seoul	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.27 ₩32,038	$54.27 NZ$90.96	+143.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$883.18 ₩1,270,332	$1,487.35 NZ$2,493.04	+68.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$490.54 ₩705,573	$1,335.17 NZ$2,237.97	+172.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$133.35 ₩191,810	$134.11 NZ$224.78	+0.6%
Average			+96.2%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 43.5% more for childcare

	Seoul	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$385.48 ₩554,461	$871.44 NZ$1,460.67	+126.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,782.92 ₩29,893,384	$12,649.75 NZ$21,203.07	-39.1%
Average			+43.5%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.58 ₩5,151	$7.17 NZ$12.01	+100.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 ₩5,181	$3.41 NZ$5.72	-5.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.22 ₩4,636	$24.46 NZ$40.99	+658.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.73 ₩77,282	$39.85 NZ$66.79	-25.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.74 ₩15,452	$12.24 NZ$20.52	+14.0%
Average			+148.4%

Seoul vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.0% more for clothing

	Seoul	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.13 ₩85,047	$75.78 NZ$127.02	+28.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.64 ₩67,092	$55.09 NZ$92.35	+18.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.69 ₩124,696	$119.44 NZ$200.21	+37.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.89 ₩179,638	$129.60 NZ$217.22	+3.8%
Average			+22.0%

Seoul vs. Wellington - 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: April 2025

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