Cost of living comparison

Taiwan

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Taiwan Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 24.5% more expensive than Taiwan overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.1% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 44.8% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 2.5% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 33.1% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 18.7% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.4% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 12.9% more in South Korea

The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and clothing in South Korea are more expensive than in Taiwan.

South Korea vs. Taiwan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Taiwan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.1% more for restaurants

	Taiwan	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 NT$138.13	$6.16 ₩8,916	+46.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.80 NT$157.67	$5.24 ₩7,584	+9.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 NT$31.13	$1.47 ₩2,131	+55.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 NT$20.04	$0.79 ₩1,146	+29.8%
Average			+35.1%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.8% more for groceries

	Taiwan	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.76 NT$57.85	$3.08 ₩4,453	+74.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.11 NT$233.57	$5.40 ₩7,823	-24.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.33 NT$372.05	$7.46 ₩10,796	-34.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 NT$83.18	$2.76 ₩3,991	+8.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.21 NT$105.41	$3.32 ₩4,807	+3.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 NT$58.19	$3.17 ₩4,585	+78.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 NT$26.24	$1.49 ₩2,155	+86.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.10 NT$36.00	$2.53 ₩3,664	+130.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 NT$41.60	$2.41 ₩3,495	+90.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.21 NT$39.67	$1.82 ₩2,642	+51.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 NT$31.42	$1.21 ₩1,751	+26.4%
Average			+44.8%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5% more for transportation

	Taiwan	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.59 NT$117.89	$4.39 ₩6,358	+22.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.87 NT$1,243.74	$45.32 ₩65,596	+19.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,524.98 NT$1,101,027.41	$27,023.07 ₩39,116,293	-19.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.35 NT$306.96	$8.17 ₩11,829	-12.6%
Average			+2.5%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.1% more for housing

	Taiwan	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.76 NT$616.18	$17.65 ₩25,555	-5.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$386.89 NT$12,706.36	$426.93 ₩617,990	+10.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$269.95 NT$8,865.66	$328.41 ₩475,383	+21.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$54.00 NT$1,773.52	$111.42 ₩161,286	+106.3%
Average			+33.1%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 18.7% more for childcare

	Taiwan	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$472.11 NT$15,504.99	$373.40 ₩540,503	-20.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,471.45 NT$475,271.31	$22,907.58 ₩33,159,059	+58.3%
Average			+18.7%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Taiwan	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 NT$59.80	$3.09 ₩4,479	+69.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 NT$85.08	$3.39 ₩4,906	+30.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 NT$131.27	$3.21 ₩4,652	-19.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.52 NT$1,133.69	$45.71 ₩66,168	+32.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.29 NT$304.97	$10.10 ₩14,618	+8.7%
Average			+24.4%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.9% more for clothing

	Taiwan	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$63.92 NT$2,099.38	$60.70 ₩87,871	-5.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.11 NT$923.24	$44.52 ₩64,447	+58.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.13 NT$2,500.23	$72.99 ₩105,657	-4.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.74 NT$3,012.82	$93.73 ₩135,676	+2.2%
Average			+12.9%

Taiwan vs. South Korea - 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: March 2025

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