Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Linyi and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Linyi: $586 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Linyi
Learn more

Linyi Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index

Jump to prices

Linyi

🇨🇳 China

$586

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $586 in Linyi versus $1,794 in Seoul.

Linyi $586
Seoul $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $935 in Linyi versus $2,863 in Seoul.

Linyi $935
Seoul $2,863

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,284 in Linyi versus $3,931 in Seoul.

Linyi $1,284
Seoul $3,931

Living in Linyi costs roughly 67% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Linyi is 57% below, Seoul is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.30 ¥15.39

$8.80 ₩11.7K

-73.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.80 ¥159

$68.4 ₩90.9K

-65.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 ¥32.18

$7.54 ₩10.0K

-36.21%

Cappuccino

$2.58 ¥17.27

$4.23 ₩5,624

-39.01%

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

$0.43 ¥2.89

$1.63 ₩2,167

-73.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 ¥1.54

$0.74 ₩985

-68.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ¥5.90

$3.64 ₩4,843

-75.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ¥13.56

$6.15 ₩8,175

-66.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥9.68

$2.01 ₩2,679

-27.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ¥9.76

$3.13 ₩4,164

-53.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.39 ¥2.61

$4.32 ₩5,744

-90.97%

Eggs

$1.08 ¥7.19

$3.61 ₩4,794

-70.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.07 ¥60.7

$17.83 ₩23.7K

-49.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.80 ¥12.07

$10.45 ₩13.9K

-82.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.03 ¥73.7

$25.80 ₩34.3K

-57.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.18 ¥7.92

$7.66 ₩10.2K

-84.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.08

$3.38 ₩4,499

-68.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 ¥6.82

$5.81 ₩7,723

-82.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.56

$6.41 ₩8,520

-84.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 ¥3.10

$3.75 ₩4,983

-87.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 ¥2.57

$2.54 ₩3,375

-84.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 ¥3.57

$2.84 ₩3,782

-81.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ¥4.44

$1.11 ₩1,472

-40.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 ¥29.31

$3.35 ₩4,455

30.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.93 ¥66.4

$18.49 ₩24.6K

-46.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 ¥4.47

$2.40 ₩3,185

-72.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 ¥8.92

$3.37 ₩4,480

-60.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.14 ₩1,521

-74.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 ¥6.94

$3.49 ₩4,643

-70.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ¥1.81

$0.63 ₩840

-57.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.38 ¥29.30

$8.86 ₩11.8K

-50.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 ¥7.74

$1.51 ₩2,005

-23.18%

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

$16.2K ¥108.2K

$29.3K ₩38.9M

-44.73%

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

$14.7K ¥98.3K

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-47.88%

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

$73.9 ¥494

$218 ₩289.2K

-66.02%

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

$4.83 ¥32.30

$35.15 ₩46.7K

-86.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.16 ¥34.53

$21.29 ₩28.3K

-75.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 ¥359

$58.1 ₩77.2K

-7.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.35 ¥176

$16.10 ₩21.4K

63.66%

Cinema Ticket

$5.26 ¥35.18

$11.31 ₩15.0K

-53.49%

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

$217 ¥1,452

$1,948 ₩2.6M

-88.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K ¥70.5K

$22.9K ₩30.4M

-53.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.72 ¥152

$57.0 ₩75.8K

-60.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.52 ¥151

$33.39 ₩44.4K

-32.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.6 ¥472

$71.5 ₩95.0K

-1.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.6 ¥458

$82.5 ₩109.7K

-16.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$211 ¥1,413

$901 ₩1.2M

-76.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$113 ¥755

$612 ₩813.5K

-81.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$492 ¥3,288

$2,526 ₩3.4M

-80.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$208 ¥1,391

$1,266 ₩1.7M

-83.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,483 ¥9,914

$29.4K ₩39.1M

-94.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$985 ¥6,585

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-91.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$801 ¥5,353

$3,650 ₩4.9M

-78.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

4.08

-23.28%

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

Last update for Linyi: 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

Linyi

$164 27.9%

Seoul

$477 26.6% 191% $313

Accommodation & Living

Linyi

$113 19.3%

Seoul

$612 34.1% 442% $499

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Linyi

$84 14.3%

Seoul

$274 15.3% 227% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Linyi

$83 14.2%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 32.6% $27

Eating Out

Linyi

$75 12.8%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 145% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Linyi

$64 11%

Seoul

$81 4.5% 25.7% $16

Getting Around

Linyi

$3.6 * 0.6%

Seoul

$57 3.2% 1515% $54

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 $211 in Linyi and $901 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 356% 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: $24.00 in Linyi vs $68.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $164 vs $477 per month, with Linyi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Linyi

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

15:35 3:35 PM

16:35 4:35 PM

1 h ahead of Linyi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,710,000

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Linyi Seoul 820 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Linyi
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

Linyi vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Linyi wins on cost – living expenses run 206% lower than in Seoul. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Linyi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 356% 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: $211 in Linyi versus $901 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 191% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $586 per month in Linyi versus $1,794 in Seoul – a 206% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $586 in Linyi versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Linyi but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Linyi 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, Linyi 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 Linyi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 206% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.