Bangkok vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Bangkok	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$941	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2857	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$416	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$1154	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$276	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$148	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$753	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	89	100
😀 Quality of life	74	95
🏙️ Population	5.68M	9.67M

The cost of living in Bangkok is 29% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5822nd and 4104th ($941 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd 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 2.2 months in Seoul. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 1221st and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Bangkok vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/bangkok/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Bangkok vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/bangkok/seoul" target="_blank">Bangkok vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Bangkok vs Seoul

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

	Bangkok	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.97	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29.9	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.91	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.69	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.5	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.61	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$576	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$291	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1879	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$853	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$52.9	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$14.7	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.06%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5781	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2619	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.18	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$38.8	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$10.5	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.93	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.33	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.42	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.19	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.3	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.8	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.99	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.35	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.73	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.26	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.98	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.33	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.3	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.81	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.22	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.46	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.63	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.93	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.03	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$49.7	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.38	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$40	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.5	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$53	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$102	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$579	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13301	$20197

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 Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019