Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabul and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $511 a month against $1,822 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

Jump to prices

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$511

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $511 in Kabul versus $1,822 in Seoul.

Kabul $511
Seoul $1,822

Estimated couple costs with rent: $684 in Kabul versus $2,847 in Seoul.

Kabul $684
Seoul $2,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $857 in Kabul versus $3,872 in Seoul.

Kabul $857
Seoul $3,872

Living in Kabul costs roughly 72% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kabul is 62% below, Seoul is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.70 ؋175

$9.10 ₩12.2K

-70.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.89 ؋511

$67.0 ₩89.8K

-88.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.51 ؋292

$7.42 ₩9,941

-39.22%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 ؋148

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ؋122

Cappuccino

$1.09 ؋70.5

$4.08 ₩5,470

-73.28%

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

$0.45 ؋28.95

$1.60 ₩2,141

-71.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 ؋10.83

$0.80 ₩1,078

-78.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.65 ₩4,886

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.94 ₩7,956

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 ؋52.4

$2.05 ₩2,742

-60.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.23

$3.08 ₩4,130

-91.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 ؋121

$4.21 ₩5,646

-55.82%

Eggs

$1.54 ؋99.7

$3.57 ₩4,784

-56.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.46 ؋289

$17.95 ₩24.1K

-75.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 ؋261

$10.64 ₩14.3K

-62.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ؋434

$26.44 ₩35.4K

-74.62%

Apples (1kg)

$0.70 ؋45.11

$7.42 ₩9,946

-90.57%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ؋57.4

$3.53 ₩4,732

-74.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.95 ؋61.5

$5.87 ₩7,866

-83.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 ؋35.47

$6.37 ₩8,534

-91.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 ؋39.34

$3.75 ₩5,028

-83.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 ؋32.74

$2.49 ₩3,337

-79.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 ؋19.48

$2.92 ₩3,911

-89.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 ؋23.89

$1.15 ₩1,542

-67.83%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 ؋117

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 ؋52.0

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 ؋65.8

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.42 ؋157

$3.29 ₩4,408

-26.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 ₩3,057

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 ₩4,398

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ؋8.60

$1.14 ₩1,526

-88.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.08 ؋1,366

$45.47 ₩60.9K

-53.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.12 ؋138

$3.48 ₩4,663

-39.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 ؋29.02

$0.60 ₩803

-25.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 ؋179

$8.70 ₩11.7K

-68.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ؋69.9

$1.50 ₩2,004

-28.00%

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

$8,341 ؋540.2K

$29.1K ₩39.0M

-71.35%

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

$33.8K ؋2.2M

$28.2K ₩37.8M

19.78%

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

$42.09 ؋2,726

$209 ₩279.9K

-79.85%

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

$13.12 ؋850

$35.13 ₩47.1K

-62.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$95.3 ؋6,174

$21.18 ₩28.4K

350.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.15 ؋722

$57.3 ₩76.8K

-80.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.11 ؋266

$15.89 ₩21.3K

-74.13%

Cinema Ticket

$2.34 ؋152

$11.33 ₩15.2K

-79.35%

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

$20.64 ؋1,337

$1,902 ₩2.5M

-98.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,045 ؋67.7K

$22.5K ₩30.2M

-95.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.71 ؋694

$58.9 ₩78.9K

-81.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.93 ؋1,032

$32.12 ₩43.0K

-50.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.8 ؋3,741

$70.1 ₩94.0K

-17.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.51 ؋1,652

$82.5 ₩110.5K

-69.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$125 ؋8,092

$885 ₩1.2M

-85.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$109 ؋7,043

$624 ₩835.5K

-82.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$219 ؋14.2K

$2,494 ₩3.3M

-91.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 ؋7,463

$1,275 ₩1.7M

-90.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$675 ؋43.7K

$29.8K ₩40.0M

-97.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$363 ؋23.5K

$11.8K ₩15.9M

-96.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$339 ؋21.9K

$3,649 ₩4.9M

-90.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

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

Last update for Kabul: October 6, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabul

$151 29.9%

Seoul

$265 14.8% 76.1% $115

Accommodation & Living

Kabul

$109 21.6%

Seoul

$624 34.7% 473% $515

Groceries & Markets

Kabul

$102 20.2%

Seoul

$479 26.7% 371% $377

Eating Out

Kabul

$51 10.1%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 263% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Kabul

$49 9.8%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 122% $60

Getting Around

Kabul

$26 5.2%

Seoul

$57 3.1% 118% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Kabul

$16 3.2%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 405% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $125 in Kabul and $885 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 977% 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: $8.00 in Kabul vs $67.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $102 vs $479 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Kabul

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

09:56 9:56 AM

14:26 2:26 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of Kabul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,289,000 Capital

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan Afghani (؋)

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 64.76 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.64 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,503 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kabul Seoul 5,120 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kabul
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

Kabul vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kabul and Seoul differ by about 256% in total monthly costs ($511 vs $1,822 including rent). Kabul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 977% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $125 in Kabul versus $885 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kabul runs roughly 116% less than in Seoul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $20.64 in Kabul versus $1,902 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $511 in Kabul versus $1,822 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kabul but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Kabul 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, Kabul 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 Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 256% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.