Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Magadan and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Magadan: $1,005 a month against $1,822 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Magadan
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Magadan Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Magadan

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,005

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,005 in Magadan versus $1,822 in Seoul.

Magadan $1,005
Seoul $1,822

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,585 in Magadan versus $2,847 in Seoul.

Magadan $1,585
Seoul $2,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,164 in Magadan versus $3,872 in Seoul.

Magadan $2,164
Seoul $3,872

Living in Magadan costs roughly 45% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Magadan is 25% below, Seoul is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.46 ₽975

$9.10 ₩12.2K

25.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.52 ₽3,107

$67.0 ₩89.8K

-45.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.39 ₽544

$7.42 ₩9,941

-13.88%

Cappuccino

$2.77 ₽236

$4.08 ₩5,470

-32.11%

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

$1.11 ₽94.3

$1.60 ₩2,141

-30.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 ₽48.15

$0.80 ₩1,078

-28.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 ₽143

$3.65 ₩4,886

-53.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 ₽257

$5.94 ₩7,956

-49.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 ₽93.3

$2.05 ₩2,742

-46.34%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 ₽61.2

$3.08 ₩4,130

-76.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 ₽98.5

$4.21 ₩5,646

-72.45%

Eggs

$1.51 ₽128

$3.57 ₩4,784

-57.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 ₽933

$17.95 ₩24.1K

-38.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.26 ₽447

$10.64 ₩14.3K

-50.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.84 ₽1,092

$26.44 ₩35.4K

-51.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 ₽143

$7.42 ₩9,946

-77.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 ₽153

$3.53 ₩4,732

-49.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 ₽144

$5.87 ₩7,866

-71.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 ₽201

$6.37 ₩8,534

-62.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 ₽67.4

$3.75 ₩5,028

-78.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₽50.3

$2.49 ₩3,337

-76.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 ₽125

$2.92 ₩3,911

-49.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ₽56.1

$1.15 ₩1,542

-42.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.66 ₽226

$3.29 ₩4,408

-19.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.64 ₽565

$18.49 ₩24.8K

-64.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ₽87.8

$2.28 ₩3,057

-54.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ₽170

$3.28 ₩4,398

-39.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 ₽44.54

$1.14 ₩1,526

-54.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.47 ₩60.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 ₽197

$3.48 ₩4,663

-33.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ₽30.42

$0.60 ₩803

-40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 ₽427

$8.70 ₩11.7K

-42.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 ₽73.4

$1.50 ₩2,004

-42.67%

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

$34.8K ₽3.0M

$29.1K ₩39.0M

19.42%

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

$32.1K ₽2.7M

$28.2K ₩37.8M

13.69%

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

$108 ₽9,180

$209 ₩279.9K

-48.35%

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

$5.71 ₽486

$35.13 ₩47.1K

-83.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.40 ₽630

$21.18 ₩28.4K

-65.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.01 ₽2,894

$57.3 ₩76.8K

-40.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.93 ₽1,951

$15.89 ₩21.3K

44.30%

Cinema Ticket

$6.18 ₽526

$11.33 ₩15.2K

-45.45%

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

$389 ₽33.1K

$1,902 ₩2.5M

-79.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,208 ₽613.3K

$22.5K ₩30.2M

-68.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 ₽6,014

$58.9 ₩78.9K

19.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.87 ₽4,243

$32.12 ₩43.0K

55.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 ₽11.1K

$70.1 ₩94.0K

85.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ₽9,684

$82.5 ₩110.5K

37.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$433 ₽36.9K

$885 ₩1.2M

-51.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$299 ₽25.5K

$624 ₩835.5K

-51.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$840 ₽71.5K

$2,494 ₩3.3M

-66.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$573 ₽48.7K

$1,275 ₩1.7M

-55.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,927 ₽164.0K

$29.8K ₩40.0M

-93.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,333 ₽113.5K

$11.8K ₩15.9M

-88.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,649 ₩4.9M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

4.08

422.79%

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

Last update for Magadan: October 6, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Magadan

$299 29.8%

Seoul

$624 34.7% 108% $324

Groceries & Markets

Magadan

$204 20.3%

Seoul

$479 26.7% 135% $275

Eating Out

Magadan

$165 16.4%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 11.2% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Magadan

$164 16.3%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 33.1% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Magadan

$121 12%

Seoul

$265 14.8% 119% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Magadan

$46 4.6%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 72.5% $34

Getting Around

Magadan

$6.2 * 0.6%

Seoul

$57 3.1% 811% $50

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 $433 in Magadan and $885 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37.00 in Magadan vs $67.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $479 per month, with Magadan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Magadan

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

16:31 4:31 PM

14:31 2:31 PM

2 h behind Magadan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,193

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 85.09 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.44 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 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 RUB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Magadan Seoul 2,970 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Magadan
Seoul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Magadan vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Magadan wins on cost – living expenses run 81% lower than in Seoul. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Magadan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,507 in Magadan and $2,733 in Seoul to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $433 in Magadan versus $885 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $389 in Magadan versus $1,902 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Magadan – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $67.0 in Seoul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,005 in Magadan versus $1,822 in Seoul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Magadan but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Magadan 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, Magadan 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 Magadan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.