Kaohsiung vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Kaohsiung	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$956	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2684	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$361	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$819	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$390	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$96.8	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1264	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	7 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	80	100
😀 Quality of life	83	95
🏙️ Population	2.73M	9.67M

The cost of living in Kaohsiung is 28% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5750th and 4104th ($956 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 3rd in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively. Check Taiwan vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in Kaohsiung compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Kaohsiung ranked 4th best city to live in Taiwan vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 417th and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Kaohsiung vs Seoul infographic

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

Prices in Kaohsiung vs Seoul

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

	Kaohsiung	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.82	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30.6	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.9	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.53	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.84	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.91	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$363	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$234	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$876	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$623	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$78.7	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$123	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$22.8	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	2.19%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4370	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2797	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.76	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$28.8	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.72	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.94	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$3.25	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.97	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.4	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.05	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.4	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.6	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.2	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.33	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.01	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.65	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.56	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.24	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.93	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.68	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.06	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.62	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.85	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.83	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.25	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.09	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.5	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$9.18	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$50.3	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.75	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$83	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$80.1	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$378	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10905	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kaohsiung

Distance	City	Cost of living
42 km or 26 mi	Tainan	$814
88 km or 55 mi	Taitung	$788
97 km or 60 mi	Chiayi	$747
124 km or 77 mi	Douliu	$770
150 km or 93 mi	Nantou	$796
163 km or 101 mi	Changhua	$813
175 km or 108 mi	Taichung	$894
224 km or 139 mi	Miaoli	$728
253 km or 157 mi	Hsinchu	$897
257 km or 160 mi	Zhubei	$821
265 km or 165 mi	Taoyuan	$875
280 km or 174 mi	Yilan	$731
285 km or 177 mi	Kinmen	$823
291 km or 181 mi	New Taipei	$1073
298 km or 185 mi	Taipei	$1181
301 km or 187 mi	Jinjiang	$627
307 km or 191 mi	Xiamen	$688
309 km or 192 mi	Quanzhou	$644
315 km or 196 mi	Keelung	$967
340 km or 211 mi	Putian	$625
341 km or 212 mi	Zhangzhou	$664
379 km or 235 mi	Shantou	$581
393 km or 244 mi	Chaozhou	$451
398 km or 247 mi	Fuzhou	$669
416 km or 258 mi	Jieyang	$443
430 km or 267 mi	Puning	$569
432 km or 268 mi	Longyan	$649
437 km or 271 mi	Ishigaki	$1155
457 km or 284 mi	Ningde	$648
466 km or 289 mi	Meizhou	$655
487 km or 302 mi	Sanming	$603
497 km or 309 mi	Nanping	$630
510 km or 317 mi	Shanwei	$936
562 km or 349 mi	Miyakojima	$1154
575 km or 357 mi	Rui'an	$681
575 km or 357 mi	Tuguegarao	$431
587 km or 365 mi	Heyuan	$764
600 km or 373 mi	Wenzhou	$726
605 km or 376 mi	Huizhou	$601
616 km or 382 mi	Wuyishan	$601

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