Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bago and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Bago: $696 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Bago
Learn more

Bago Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index

Jump to prices

Bago

🇵🇭 Philippines

$696

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bago and in Seoul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bago and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $696 in Bago versus $1,794 in Seoul.

Bago $696
Seoul $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,085 in Bago versus $2,863 in Seoul.

Bago $1,085
Seoul $2,863

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,475 in Bago versus $3,931 in Seoul.

Bago $1,475
Seoul $3,931

Living in Bago costs roughly 61% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bago is 48% below, Seoul is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 ₱237

$8.80 ₩11.7K

-57.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.36 ₱967

$68.4 ₩90.9K

-77.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.13 ₱197

$7.54 ₩10.0K

-58.49%

Cappuccino

$2.06 ₱130

$4.23 ₩5,624

-51.30%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ₱44.84

$1.63 ₩2,167

-56.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.26

$0.74 ₩985

-58.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 ₱66.7

$3.64 ₩4,843

-70.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₱132

$6.15 ₩8,175

-65.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ₱91.5

$2.01 ₩2,679

-27.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 ₱65.8

$3.13 ₩4,164

-66.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ₱56.0

$4.32 ₩5,744

-79.40%

Eggs

$1.70 ₱107

$3.61 ₩4,794

-52.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.64 ₱355

$17.83 ₩23.7K

-68.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 ₱294

$10.45 ₩13.9K

-55.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.51 ₱473

$25.80 ₩34.3K

-70.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 ₱169

$7.66 ₩10.2K

-65.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 ₱109

$3.38 ₩4,499

-49.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 ₱163

$5.81 ₩7,723

-55.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 ₱81.4

$6.41 ₩8,520

-79.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 ₱109

$3.75 ₩4,983

-54.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 ₱117

$2.54 ₩3,375

-26.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 ₱63.3

$2.84 ₩3,782

-64.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₱31.69

$1.11 ₩1,472

-54.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 ₱207

$3.35 ₩4,455

-1.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.16 ₱451

$18.49 ₩24.6K

-61.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₱56.4

$2.40 ₩3,185

-62.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ₱117

$3.37 ₩4,480

-44.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 ₱13.43

$1.14 ₩1,521

-81.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.85 ₱683

$46.11 ₩61.3K

-76.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 ₱41.31

$3.49 ₩4,643

-81.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.56

$0.63 ₩840

-63.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 ₱121

$8.86 ₩11.8K

-78.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 ₱81.5

$1.51 ₩2,005

-13.91%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$24.5K ₱1.5M

$29.3K ₩38.9M

-16.35%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$18.8K ₱1.2M

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-33.44%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$109 ₱6,893

$218 ₩289.2K

-49.67%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.03 ₱821

$35.15 ₩46.7K

-62.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.14 ₱1,646

$21.29 ₩28.3K

22.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.61 ₱1,864

$58.1 ₩77.2K

-49.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.30 ₱333

$16.10 ₩21.4K

-67.08%

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 ₱313

$11.31 ₩15.0K

-56.06%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$130 ₱8,157

$1,948 ₩2.6M

-93.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,189 ₱515.6K

$22.9K ₩30.4M

-64.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.58 ₱2,303

$57.0 ₩75.8K

-35.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.81 ₱1,373

$33.39 ₩44.4K

-34.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 ₱4,823

$71.5 ₩95.0K

7.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.2 ₱3,977

$82.5 ₩109.7K

-23.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 ₱18.5K

$901 ₩1.2M

-67.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 ₱9,268

$612 ₩813.5K

-75.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 ₱28.6K

$2,526 ₩3.4M

-82.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$347 ₱21.9K

$1,266 ₩1.7M

-72.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,607 ₱164.2K

$29.4K ₩39.1M

-91.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$876 ₱55.1K

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-92.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

4.08

66.42%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bago

$180 25.9%

Seoul

$477 26.6% 165% $297

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bago

$149 21.4%

Seoul

$274 15.3% 84.3% $125

Accommodation & Living

Bago

$147 21.2%

Seoul

$612 34.1% 316% $465

Clothing & Footwear

Bago

$89 12.8%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 23.4% $21

Eating Out

Bago

$78 11.2%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 136% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Bago

$40 5.7%

Seoul

$81 4.5% 104% $41

Getting Around

Bago

$14 1.9%

Seoul

$57 3.2% 324% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Bago and $901 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $15.00 in Bago vs $68.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $477 per month, with Bago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Bago

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

07:29 7:29 AM

1 h ahead of Bago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

191,210

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bago Seoul 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bago
Seoul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bago vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bago is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 158% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,044 in Bago and $2,692 in Seoul to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $294 in Bago versus $901 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $130 in Bago versus $1,948 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 165% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $696 in Bago versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bago but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Bago the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bago and Seoul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 158% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.