Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bilbao and Ulsan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ulsan: $1,339 a month against $2,129 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Ulsan
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Ulsan Living Index

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Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,129

/mo nomad

Ulsan

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,339

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bilbao and in Ulsan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,129 in Bilbao versus $1,339 in Ulsan.

Bilbao $2,129
Ulsan $1,339

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,159 in Bilbao versus $2,185 in Ulsan.

Bilbao $3,159
Ulsan $2,185

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,190 in Bilbao versus $3,030 in Ulsan.

Bilbao $4,190
Ulsan $3,030

Living in Bilbao is roughly 59% more expensive than in Ulsan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bilbao is 58% above, Ulsan is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.39 €19.92

$7.62 ₩10.1K

193.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.3 €63.4

$44.63 ₩59.3K

59.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.25 €10.90

$5.93 ₩7,882

106.58%

Cappuccino

$2.55 €2.27

$3.32 ₩4,410

-23.19%

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

$3.03 €2.70

$0.88 ₩1,175

244.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 €1.68

$0.47 ₩619

302.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.96

$3.01 ₩4,006

10.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 €3.04

$4.38 ₩5,826

-22.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$2.36 ₩3,139

-45.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 €1.41

$3.25 ₩4,315

-51.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 €1.32

$3.16 ₩4,207

-53.16%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.95

$2.73 ₩3,634

21.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.51 €13.80

$10.88 ₩14.5K

42.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.99 €7.11

$10.63 ₩14.1K

-24.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.47 €12.87

$24.54 ₩32.6K

-41.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$11.39 ₩15.1K

-75.42%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$3.74 ₩4,975

-42.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 €2.32

$8.09 ₩10.8K

-67.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$6.05 ₩8,048

-57.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$6.01 ₩7,992

-72.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$3.26 ₩4,328

-23.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 €1.13

$2.89 ₩3,844

-56.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$1.28 ₩1,707

-29.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.60 €5.88

$3.12 ₩4,154

111.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.00 €7.12

$18.52 ₩24.6K

-56.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.31

$2.45 ₩3,264

-39.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 €2.23

$3.44 ₩4,577

-27.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.14 ₩1,511

54.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.4 €44.87

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.54 €4.93

$2.89 ₩3,849

91.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.91

$0.78 ₩1,040

32.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.65 €29.04

$16.96 ₩22.6K

92.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.43 ₩1,899

26.57%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$30.0K ₩39.9M

15.72%

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

$30.7K €27.3K

$34.1K ₩45.4M

-10.08%

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

$142 €127

$197 ₩261.8K

-27.71%

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

$20.57 €18.29

$37.06 ₩49.3K

-44.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.26 €26.92

$27.21 ₩36.2K

11.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.0 €48.96

$60.4 ₩80.3K

-8.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.24 €13.55

Cinema Ticket

$9.97 €8.87

$10.30 ₩13.7K

-3.20%

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

$521 €463

$263 ₩349.3K

98.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K €10.1K

$22.0K ₩29.3M

-48.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.4

$51.5 ₩68.5K

103.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.72 €33.55

$45.56 ₩60.6K

-17.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.7 €67.3

$61.0 ₩81.2K

23.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$146 €130

$75.0 ₩99.7K

94.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,261 €1,121

$373 ₩495.3K

238.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,057 €940

$244 ₩324.7K

332.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,392 €2,127

$761 ₩1.0M

214.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,689 €1,503

$648 ₩861.8K

160.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,657 €5,032

$4,483 ₩6.0M

26.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,688 €3,281

$2,479 ₩3.3M

48.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,394 €2,129

$2,331 ₩3.1M

2.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

4.22

-29.38%

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

Last update for Bilbao: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ulsan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bilbao

$1.1K 49.7%

Ulsan

$244 18.2% 76.9% $813

Eating Out

Bilbao

$290 13.6%

Ulsan

$148 11% 49% $142

Groceries & Markets

Bilbao

$282 13.3%

Ulsan

$489 36.5% 73.2% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bilbao

$193 9.1%

Ulsan

$261 19.5% 35.2% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Bilbao

$164 7.7%

Ulsan

$105 7.8% 35.9% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Bilbao

$75 3.5%

Ulsan

$81 6.1% 8.1% $6

Getting Around

Bilbao

$68 3.2%

Ulsan

$11 * 0.9% 83.4% $57

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,261 in Bilbao and $373 in Ulsan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays 3% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $71.0 in Bilbao vs $45.00 in Ulsan. Groceries flip the comparison at $282 vs $489, with Bilbao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🇰🇷 Ulsan

🕒 Local time

22:30 10:30 PM

05:30 5:30 AM

7 h ahead of Bilbao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,096

1,129,827

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 19, 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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bilbao Ulsan 10,010 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bilbao
Ulsan

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

Bilbao vs Ulsan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bilbao and Ulsan differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($2,129 vs $1,339 including rent). Ulsan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Bilbao, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,261 in Bilbao versus $373 in Ulsan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bilbao pay roughly 73% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,129 per month in Bilbao versus $1,339 in Ulsan – a 59% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,339 in Ulsan versus $2,129 in Bilbao, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ulsan but tight or insufficient in Bilbao. The gap between the two cities makes Ulsan 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, Bilbao and Ulsan 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 Ulsan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Bilbao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.