Bangkok vs Busan - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Bangkok	Busan
🚶 Cost of living one person	$941	$1060
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2857	$2838
🏠 One person rent	$416	$390
🏘️ Family rent	$1154	$797
🍽️ Food expenses	$276	$436
🚐 Transport expenses	$148	$135
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$753	$2181
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	89	72
😀 Quality of life	74	89
🏙️ Population	5.68M	3.45M

The cost of living in Bangkok is 11% less expensive than in Busan. Cities ranked 5822nd and 5092nd ($941 vs $1060) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 30th in Thailand and South Korea, respectively. Check Thailand vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Bangkok compared to 2.1 months in Busan. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs Busan ranked 4th in South Korea, while ranked 1221st and 201st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Bangkok vs Busan infographic

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Prices in Bangkok vs Busan

Prices for goods and services in Bangkok and Busan are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Bangkok	Busan
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.97	$5.69
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29.9	$28
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.91	$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$3.28
☕ Cappuccino	$2.5	$3.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.61	$1.8
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$576	$392
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$291	$248
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1879	$825
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$853	$584
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$52.9	$92.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81	$143
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$14.7	$20.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.06%	4.26%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5781	$7716
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2619	$7051
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.18	$1.09
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$38.8	$40.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$10.5	$11.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.12
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.93	$2.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.33	$2.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.42	$2.46
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.19	$3.1
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.3	$12.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.8	$8.19
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.99	$26.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.35	$6.81
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.73	$3.06
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.26	$6.97
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.98	$4.64
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$4.35
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$3.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.33	$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.3	$1.98
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18	$13
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.81	$1.7
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.22	$3.11
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.46	$4.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.63	$3.79
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$1.58
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.03	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$49.7	$43.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.38	$9.64
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$40	$23
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.5	$8.84
👖 Brand Jeans	$53	$85.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$102	$80.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$579	$470
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13301	$13395

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bangkok

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.1 mi	Nonthaburi	$717
13 km or 8.4 mi	Lat Luang	$753
14 km or 8.4 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$748
18 km or 11 mi	Pak Kret	$715
28 km or 18 mi	Rangsit	$595
39 km or 25 mi	Tha Khlong	$641
50 km or 31 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$548
86 km or 53 mi	Laem Chabang	$743
87 km or 54 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$739
98 km or 61 mi	Pattaya	$781
103 km or 64 mi	Nong Prue	$752
145 km or 90 mi	Hua Hin	$656
164 km or 102 mi	Klaeng	$685
217 km or 135 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
222 km or 138 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$654
254 km or 158 mi	Myeik	$576
267 km or 166 mi	Serei Saophoan	$639
270 km or 168 mi	Ko Chang	$677
299 km or 186 mi	Battambang	$573
342 km or 212 mi	Phitsanulok	$537
364 km or 226 mi	Siem Reap	$644
388 km or 241 mi	Khon Kaen	$568
416 km or 258 mi	Ko Tao	$777
434 km or 270 mi	Mawlamyine	$569
452 km or 281 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$730
466 km or 290 mi	Hpa-an	$610
473 km or 294 mi	Udon Thani	$543
475 km or 295 mi	Sihanoukville	$755
475 km or 295 mi	Ko Samui	$705
496 km or 308 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$545
519 km or 323 mi	Vientiane	$1163
529 km or 329 mi	Surat Thani	$563
529 km or 329 mi	Kampot	$596
536 km or 333 mi	Phnom Penh	$836
542 km or 337 mi	Phu Quoc	$519
569 km or 354 mi	Kampong Cham	$513
578 km or 359 mi	Yangon	$705
579 km or 360 mi	Prey Veng	$721
584 km or 363 mi	Chiang Mai	$691
587 km or 365 mi	Bago	$650

Cities near Busan

Distance	City	Cost of living
21 km or 13 mi	Gimhae	$959
27 km or 16 mi	Yangsan	$1027
40 km or 25 mi	Changwon	$1075
46 km or 28 mi	Masan	$998
50 km or 31 mi	Geoje	$887
51 km or 32 mi	Miryang	$1030
56 km or 35 mi	Ulsan	$1059
63 km or 39 mi	Tongyeong	$924
64 km or 40 mi	Sacheon	$983
81 km or 50 mi	Tsushima Island	$901
84 km or 52 mi	Gyeongsan	$991
85 km or 53 mi	Gyeongju	$1388
87 km or 54 mi	Jinju	$1054
94 km or 58 mi	Daegu	$995
98 km or 61 mi	Yeongcheon	$1115
102 km or 64 mi	Tsushima	$903
108 km or 67 mi	Pohang	$988
123 km or 77 mi	Gwangyang	$1002
131 km or 82 mi	Yeosu	$989
138 km or 86 mi	Gumi	$992
141 km or 88 mi	Gimcheon	$977
142 km or 88 mi	Suncheon	$1059
154 km or 96 mi	Namwon	$987
162 km or 101 mi	Iki	$902
165 km or 103 mi	Andong	$880
166 km or 103 mi	Sangju	$1000
183 km or 113 mi	Mungyeong	$979
189 km or 118 mi	Jeonju	$854
193 km or 120 mi	Gwangju	$1101
195 km or 121 mi	Yeongju	$964
198 km or 123 mi	Hirado	$891
199 km or 124 mi	Munakata	$916
199 km or 124 mi	Fukutsu	$916
200 km or 124 mi	Okagaki	$913
201 km or 125 mi	Koga	$921
201 km or 125 mi	Shingu	$919
202 km or 125 mi	Itoshima	$910
202 km or 126 mi	Karatsu	$895
204 km or 127 mi	Daejeon	$992
205 km or 127 mi	Jeongeup	$970