Seoul vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Seoul	Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1334	$916
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3862	$2694
🏠 One person rent	$608	$478
🏘️ Family rent	$1634	$1142
🍽️ Food expenses	$488	$261
🚐 Transport expenses	$144	$85.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$2911	$1771
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	18 km	11 km
🎓 Higher education	100	96
😀 Quality of life	95	80
🏙️ Population	9.67M	17.7M

The cost of living in Seoul is 46% more expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 4104th and 5950th ($1334 vs $916) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 12th in South Korea and China, respectively. Check South Korea vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.2 months in Seoul compared to 1.9 months in Shenzhen. Seoul ranked 1st best city to live in South Korea vs Shenzhen ranked 3rd in China, while ranked 30th and 545th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Seoul vs Shenzhen infographic

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Prices in Seoul vs Shenzhen

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

	Seoul	Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$7.53	$3.06
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$40.1	$27.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.87	$5.23
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.5	$1.11
☕ Cappuccino	$3.57	$3.03
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.58	$0.46
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$754	$667
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$422	$360
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2293	$1650
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1250	$917
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$99.6	$43.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$155	$65.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$20.3	$13.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.85%	4.36%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$19682	$12583
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$11168	$6551
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.05	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$44.5	$23.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.29	$4.51
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.06	$1.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.08	$1.89
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.06	$1.18
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.38	$1.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.7	$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.56	$4.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$32	$13.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.25	$1.9
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.37	$1.4
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.31	$1.73
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.9	$1.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.54	$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.82	$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.18	$1.05
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$20.3	$12.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.46	$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.17	$3.79
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.67	$5.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.75	$6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.16	$1.63
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.86	$1.91
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$48.3	$48.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$10.5	$6.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$22.9	$33.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$9.53	$9.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$58.3	$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$82.4	$78
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$420	$502
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20197	$22267

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance	City	Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi	Kowloon	$2432
30 km or 19 mi	Hong Kong	$2737
58 km or 36 mi	Zhuhai	$653
65 km or 40 mi	Dongguan	$656
66 km or 41 mi	Macau	$1588
72 km or 45 mi	Zhongshan	$461
74 km or 46 mi	Huizhou	$601
100 km or 62 mi	Jiangmen	$804
105 km or 65 mi	Guangzhou	$774
112 km or 69 mi	Foshan	$611
134 km or 83 mi	Shanwei	$936
142 km or 88 mi	Kaiping	$812
150 km or 93 mi	Heyuan	$764
164 km or 102 mi	Qingyuan	$794
174 km or 108 mi	Zhaoqing	$793
212 km or 131 mi	Yunfu	$823
228 km or 142 mi	Yangjiang	$877
233 km or 145 mi	Puning	$569
256 km or 159 mi	Shaoguan	$818
262 km or 163 mi	Jieyang	$443
286 km or 178 mi	Shantou	$581
288 km or 179 mi	Meizhou	$655
292 km or 182 mi	Chaozhou	$451
299 km or 186 mi	Wuzhou	$803
303 km or 188 mi	Lianzhou	$755
330 km or 205 mi	Hezhou	$758
337 km or 209 mi	Gaozhou	$761
337 km or 210 mi	Maoming	$756
377 km or 234 mi	Ganzhou	$761
378 km or 235 mi	Chenzhou	$724
401 km or 249 mi	Yulin	$771
405 km or 252 mi	Zhanjiang	$764
415 km or 258 mi	Longyan	$649
428 km or 266 mi	Zhangzhou	$664
460 km or 286 mi	Guigang	$702
464 km or 288 mi	Xiamen	$688
477 km or 297 mi	Haikou	$650
485 km or 301 mi	Kinmen	$823
489 km or 304 mi	Guilin	$522
502 km or 312 mi	Yongzhou	$609