Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perth and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,804 a month against $3,027 in Perth, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

147

Cost of Living Index in Perth
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Perth Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Perth

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,027

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,027 in Perth versus $1,804 in Seoul.

Perth $3,027
Seoul $1,804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,162 in Perth versus $2,877 in Seoul.

Perth $4,162
Seoul $2,877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,297 in Perth versus $3,950 in Seoul.

Perth $5,297
Seoul $3,950

Living in Perth is roughly 68% more expensive than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Perth 123% above, Seoul 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.22 A$30.54

$9.10 ₩12.1K

133.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 A$122

$66.7 ₩88.6K

26.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.01 A$15.84

$7.49 ₩9,959

47.00%

Cappuccino

$4.43 A$6.38

$4.19 ₩5,569

5.73%

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

$2.88 A$4.15

$1.55 ₩2,067

85.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.79 ₩1,055

184.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.44 A$12.14

$3.64 ₩4,846

131.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.22 A$11.83

$6.14 ₩8,164

33.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 A$2.51

$2.11 ₩2,811

-17.54%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 A$4.49

$3.05 ₩4,051

2.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 A$2.96

$4.21 ₩5,599

-51.07%

Eggs

$5.21 A$7.50

$3.54 ₩4,709

47.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.02 A$12.98

$18.02 ₩24.0K

-49.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 A$13.43

$10.35 ₩13.8K

-9.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.80 A$19.85

$26.47 ₩35.2K

-47.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 A$6.60

$7.91 ₩10.5K

-41.97%

Banana (1kg)

$3.23 A$4.65

$3.44 ₩4,578

-6.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.40 A$4.89

$5.64 ₩7,493

-39.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.89 A$7.03

$6.41 ₩8,517

-23.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.86 A$4.12

$3.71 ₩4,938

-22.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 A$2.72

$2.52 ₩3,345

-25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.19 A$3.15

$2.87 ₩3,816

-23.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 A$2.00

$1.16 ₩1,536

19.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$42.45 A$61.1

$3.37 ₩4,480

1159.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.73 A$18.31

$18.72 ₩24.9K

-32.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.56 A$6.56

$2.28 ₩3,036

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 A$4.78

$3.31 ₩4,397

0.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.40 A$3.45

$1.13 ₩1,497

112.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.4 A$142

$46.73 ₩62.1K

110.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 A$5.07

$3.52 ₩4,684

0.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 A$2.09

$0.64 ₩849

128.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.43 A$58.2

$8.76 ₩11.7K

361.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.95

$1.45 ₩1,930

-6.21%

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

$29.6K A$42.6K

$29.7K ₩39.4M

-0.18%

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

$27.7K A$39.9K

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-1.69%

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

$205 A$295

$211 ₩280.4K

-2.63%

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

$32.82 A$47.23

$35.36 ₩47.0K

-7.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.0 A$92.1

$20.57 ₩27.4K

211.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.2 A$79.4

$57.7 ₩76.7K

-4.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.94 A$30.13

$16.20 ₩21.5K

29.26%

Cinema Ticket

$17.27 A$24.85

$11.37 ₩15.1K

51.89%

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

$2,320 A$3,339

$1,967 ₩2.6M

17.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K A$32.9K

$22.8K ₩30.3M

0.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.4 A$110

$57.5 ₩76.4K

32.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.1 A$90.8

$33.08 ₩44.0K

90.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 A$176

$70.1 ₩93.2K

74.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 A$235

$84.3 ₩112.0K

93.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,936 A$2,786

$878 ₩1.2M

120.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,624 A$2,337

$624 ₩829.7K

160.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,820 A$4,058

$2,513 ₩3.3M

12.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 A$3,110

$1,287 ₩1.7M

67.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,369 A$12.0K

$30.4K ₩40.4M

-72.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,001 A$8,635

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-49.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,209 A$6,056

$3,599 ₩4.8M

16.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.96

4.08

46.08%

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

Last update for Perth: October 19, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Perth

$1.6K 53.7%

Seoul

$624 34.6% 61.6% $1,000

Groceries & Markets

Perth

$366 12.1%

Seoul

$480 26.6% 31.1% $114

Eating Out

Perth

$335 11.1%

Seoul

$185 10.3% 44.7% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perth

$302 10%

Seoul

$267 14.8% 11.7% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Perth

$191 6.3%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 42.3% $81

Getting Around

Perth

$119 3.9%

Seoul

$58 3.2% 51.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Perth

$90 3%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 10.4% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,936 in Perth and $878 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Perth pays 17% 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: $85.0 in Perth vs $67.0 in Seoul. Groceries flip the comparison at $366 vs $480, with Perth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Perth

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

14:41 2:41 PM

1 h ahead of Perth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,043,762

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 21, 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 AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Perth Seoul 7,820 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Perth
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

Perth vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 68% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Perth, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,936 in Perth versus $878 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Seoul runs roughly 111% less than in Perth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,320 in Perth versus $1,967 in Seoul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,804 in Seoul versus $3,027 in Perth, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Seoul but tight or insufficient in Perth. The gap between the two cities makes Seoul 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, Perth 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 Seoul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Perth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.