Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Exeter and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,848 a month against $2,571 in Exeter, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Exeter
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Exeter Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Exeter

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,571

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,848

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,571 in Exeter versus $1,848 in Seoul.

Exeter $2,571
Seoul $1,848

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,846 in Exeter versus $2,986 in Seoul.

Exeter $3,846
Seoul $2,986

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,121 in Exeter versus $4,125 in Seoul.

Exeter $5,121
Seoul $4,125

Living in Exeter is roughly 39% more expensive than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Exeter 89% above, Seoul 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.92 £14.97

$9.05 ₩12.0K

120.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.8 £73.5

$68.3 ₩90.7K

43.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.57 £7.20

$7.35 ₩9,751

30.20%

Cappuccino

$4.96 £3.73

$4.12 ₩5,464

20.39%

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

$3.17 £2.38

$1.64 ₩2,181

93.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 £1.89

$0.81 ₩1,070

209.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.45 £5.60

$3.71 ₩4,921

100.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.16 £4.63

$6.13 ₩8,138

0.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.04 ₩2,709

-25.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$3.21 ₩4,260

-47.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$4.39 ₩5,822

-59.45%

Eggs

$4.30 £3.23

$3.59 ₩4,765

19.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.70 £6.54

$18.23 ₩24.2K

-52.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.71 £6.55

$10.51 ₩13.9K

-17.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.73 £17.84

$26.89 ₩35.7K

-11.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 £2.34

$7.86 ₩10.4K

-60.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$3.53 ₩4,683

-59.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 £1.75

$5.70 ₩7,569

-59.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 £2.40

$6.18 ₩8,198

-48.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.27 £1.71

$3.76 ₩4,993

-39.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$2.51 ₩3,333

-21.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 £1.21

$2.82 ₩3,735

-42.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.11 ₩1,472

75.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.65

$3.30 ₩4,379

611.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.54 £7.17

$18.64 ₩24.7K

-48.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.74 £2.81

$2.42 ₩3,209

54.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$3.36 ₩4,456

31.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 £2.95

$1.19 ₩1,581

229.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 £84.1

$46.13 ₩61.2K

142.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 £4.32

$3.55 ₩4,713

61.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.53 £1.90

$0.60 ₩801

321.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.98

$9.08 ₩12.0K

163.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.44 ₩1,908

41.67%

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

$38.7K £29.1K

$30.3K ₩40.2M

27.85%

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

$40.1K £30.2K

$28.9K ₩38.3M

38.94%

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

$469 £352

$213 ₩282.0K

120.50%

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

$15.97 £12.00

$35.83 ₩47.5K

-55.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.00 £35.32

$21.39 ₩28.4K

119.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.72 £29.85

$61.6 ₩81.8K

-35.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.18 £9.90

$16.41 ₩21.8K

-19.68%

Cinema Ticket

$12.62 £9.49

$11.42 ₩15.1K

10.51%

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

$2,180 £1,639

$1,948 ₩2.6M

11.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K £13.3K

$22.8K ₩30.2M

-22.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 £51.1

$59.8 ₩79.3K

13.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 £23.42

$34.19 ₩45.4K

-8.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £79.2

$66.0 ₩87.6K

59.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 £55.8

$81.9 ₩108.7K

-9.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,381 £1,038

$924 ₩1.2M

49.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,050 £789

$659 ₩874.6K

59.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,160 £1,623

$3,012 ₩4.0M

-28.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,946 £1,463

$1,440 ₩1.9M

35.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,743 £4,316

$27.2K ₩36.0M

-78.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,565 £3,431

$11.3K ₩15.0M

-59.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,062 £2,301

$3,570 ₩4.7M

-14.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

4.08

25.25%

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

Last update for Exeter: October 25, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Exeter

$1K 40.8%

Seoul

$659 35.7% 37.2% $390

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Exeter

$532 20.7%

Seoul

$270 14.6% 49.3% $262

Groceries & Markets

Exeter

$334 13%

Seoul

$483 26.2% 44.8% $150

Eating Out

Exeter

$320 12.4%

Seoul

$184 10% 42.3% $135

Getting Around

Exeter

$146 5.7%

Seoul

$57 3.1% 60.7% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Exeter

$125 4.9%

Seoul

$109 5.9% 13.3% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Exeter

$65 2.5%

Seoul

$84 4.6% 30% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,381 in Exeter and $924 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $98 in Exeter vs $68 in Seoul. Groceries flip the comparison at $334 vs $483, with Exeter cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Exeter

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

11:56 11:56 AM

20:56 8:56 PM

9 h ahead of Exeter

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,800

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Exeter Seoul 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Exeter
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

Exeter vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Exeter and Seoul differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($2,571 vs $1,848 including rent). Seoul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Exeter. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,381 in Exeter versus $924 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Seoul – a meal for two runs $68 versus $98 in Exeter. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,571 per month in Exeter versus $1,848 in Seoul – a 39% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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, Exeter 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.