Cape Town vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Cape Town	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1071	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2522	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$582	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$1083	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$273	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$124	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1532	$2911
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	7 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	56	100
😀 Quality of life	58	95
🏙️ Population	3.78M	9.67M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 20% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5016th and 4104th ($1071 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 3rd in South Africa and South Korea, respectively. Check South Africa vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 5491st and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cape Town vs Seoul infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs Seoul

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

	Cape Town	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.4	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$32.1	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.87	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.58	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.03	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.03	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$677	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$435	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1304	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$863	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59.9	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$93.1	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$38.9	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.89%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1804	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1180	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.09	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$39	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.47	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.23	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.08	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.03	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.48	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.58	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.33	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.42	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.24	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.45	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.47	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.57	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.33	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.62	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.43	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.48	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.39	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.02	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.02	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.17	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.11	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.49	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.4	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.22	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$35.7	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.05	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$51	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$204	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4806	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance	City	Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi	Paarl	$1147
99 km or 62 mi	Worcester	$619
371 km or 231 mi	George	$743
644 km or 400 mi	Uitenhage	$840
662 km or 411 mi	Port Elizabeth	$901
664 km or 413 mi	Upington	$699
754 km or 468 mi	Makhanda	$763
821 km or 510 mi	Komani	$915
833 km or 518 mi	Kimberley	$814
845 km or 525 mi	Bhisho	$1332
882 km or 548 mi	East London	$766
912 km or 567 mi	Bloemfontein	$657
950 km or 590 mi	Mafeteng	$567
999 km or 621 mi	Maseru	$621
1002 km or 622 mi	Mthatha	$852
1029 km or 639 mi	Teyateyaneng	$500
1030 km or 640 mi	Welkom	$748
1034 km or 643 mi	Mariental	$827
1092 km or 679 mi	Butha-Buthe	$535
1092 km or 679 mi	Kroonstad	$768
1113 km or 692 mi	Klerksdorp	$722
1135 km or 705 mi	Mmabatho	$780
1155 km or 718 mi	Potchefstroom	$695
1187 km or 737 mi	Rehoboth	$792
1194 km or 742 mi	Lobatse	$665
1198 km or 745 mi	Kanye	$664
1208 km or 751 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$773
1217 km or 756 mi	Vereeniging	$672
1231 km or 765 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$640
1244 km or 773 mi	Soweto	$923
1250 km or 777 mi	Rustenburg	$889
1260 km or 783 mi	Gaborone	$691
1261 km or 783 mi	Molepolole	$628
1261 km or 784 mi	Johannesburg	$993
1267 km or 788 mi	Randburg	$837
1269 km or 789 mi	Windhoek	$862
1270 km or 789 mi	Sandton	$953
1271 km or 790 mi	Durban	$809
1277 km or 794 mi	Gobabis	$813
1279 km or 795 mi	Walvis Bay	$740

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