Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dasmarinas and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Dasmarinas: $496 a month against $1,804 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Dasmarinas
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Dasmarinas Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Dasmarinas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$496

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dasmarinas 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 Dasmarinas and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $496 in Dasmarinas versus $1,804 in Seoul.

Dasmarinas $496
Seoul $1,804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $738 in Dasmarinas versus $2,877 in Seoul.

Dasmarinas $738
Seoul $2,877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $980 in Dasmarinas versus $3,950 in Seoul.

Dasmarinas $980
Seoul $3,950

Living in Dasmarinas costs roughly 73% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dasmarinas is 63% below, Seoul is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.08 ₱257

$9.10 ₩12.1K

-55.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.95 ₱1,067

$66.7 ₩88.6K

-74.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.71 ₱171

$7.49 ₩9,959

-63.82%

Cappuccino

$1.75 ₱110

$4.19 ₩5,569

-58.23%

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

$0.57 ₱35.76

$1.55 ₩2,067

-63.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.30

$0.79 ₩1,055

-60.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.96 ₱60.1

$3.64 ₩4,846

-73.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 ₱99.4

$6.14 ₩8,164

-74.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 ₱87.5

$2.11 ₩2,811

-34.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 ₱69.5

$3.05 ₩4,051

-63.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ₱41.36

$4.21 ₩5,599

-84.32%

Eggs

$1.79 ₱113

$3.54 ₩4,709

-49.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.94 ₱311

$18.02 ₩24.0K

-72.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.49 ₱219

$10.35 ₩13.8K

-66.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.72 ₱297

$26.47 ₩35.2K

-82.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 ₱143

$7.91 ₩10.5K

-71.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₱102

$3.44 ₩4,578

-53.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.38 ₱150

$5.64 ₩7,493

-57.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 ₱67.3

$6.41 ₩8,517

-83.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 ₱110

$3.71 ₩4,938

-52.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 ₱108

$2.52 ₩3,345

-31.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ₱38.39

$2.87 ₩3,816

-78.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ₱32.54

$1.16 ₩1,536

-55.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.88 ₱181

$3.37 ₩4,480

-14.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.59 ₱541

$18.72 ₩24.9K

-54.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 ₱58.5

$2.28 ₩3,036

-59.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ₱125

$3.31 ₩4,397

-39.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.13 ₩1,497

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.73 ₩62.1K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.78 ₱48.96

$3.52 ₩4,684

-77.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₱15.76

$0.64 ₩849

-60.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 ₱117

$8.76 ₩11.7K

-78.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ₱70.1

$1.45 ₩1,930

-23.45%

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

$21.4K ₱1.3M

$29.7K ₩39.4M

-27.89%

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

$18.9K ₱1.2M

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-32.94%

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

$48.45 ₱3,050

$211 ₩280.4K

-77.02%

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

$17.55 ₱1,105

$35.36 ₩47.0K

-50.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.72 ₱1,494

$20.57 ₩27.4K

15.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.43 ₱2,105

$57.7 ₩76.7K

-42.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.20 ₩21.5K

Cinema Ticket

$5.30 ₱334

$11.37 ₩15.1K

-53.39%

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

$134 ₱8,415

$1,967 ₩2.6M

-93.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₱674.0K

$22.8K ₩30.3M

-52.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.53 ₱1,796

$57.5 ₩76.4K

-50.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.55 ₱1,231

$33.08 ₩44.0K

-40.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ₱4,561

$70.1 ₩93.2K

3.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.4 ₱3,552

$84.3 ₩112.0K

-33.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$878 ₩1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$46.95 ₱2,956

$624 ₩829.7K

-92.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,513 ₩3.3M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 ₩1.7M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$30.4K ₩40.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$353 ₱22.2K

$3,599 ₩4.8M

-90.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.4

4.08

56.86%

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

Last update for Dasmarinas: October 18, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dasmarinas

$160 32.3%

Seoul

$480 26.6% 200% $319

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dasmarinas

$90 18.1%

Seoul

$267 14.8% 197% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Dasmarinas

$80 16.1%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 38.4% $31

Eating Out

Dasmarinas

$73 14.8%

Seoul

$185 10.3% 153% $112

Accommodation & Living

Dasmarinas

$47 9.5%

Seoul

$624 34.6% 1229% $577

Sport & Entertainment

Dasmarinas

$44 8.9%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 82.7% $36

Getting Around

Dasmarinas

$2 * 0.4%

Seoul

$58 3.2% 2755% $56

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

Cost Breakdown

Seoul pays 920% 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: $17.00 in Dasmarinas vs $67.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $160 vs $480 per month, with Dasmarinas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Dasmarinas

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

06:39 6:39 AM

07:39 7:39 AM

1 h ahead of Dasmarinas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

659,019

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 20, 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 20, 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

Dasmarinas Seoul 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dasmarinas
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

Dasmarinas vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dasmarinas and Seoul differ by about 264% in total monthly costs ($496 vs $1,804 including rent). Dasmarinas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 920% lower in Seoul. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $134 in Dasmarinas versus $1,967 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dasmarinas – a meal for two runs $17.00 versus $67.0 in Seoul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $496 in Dasmarinas versus $1,804 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Dasmarinas but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Dasmarinas 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, Dasmarinas 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 Dasmarinas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 264% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.