Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Arklow

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,794 a month against $2,624 in Arklow, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Arklow
Learn more

Arklow Living Index

Jump to prices

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Arklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,624

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Arklow

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Seoul and in Arklow actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,794 per month in Seoul vs $2,624 in Arklow, rent included.

Seoul $1,794
Arklow $2,624

A couple spends around $2,863 per month in Seoul vs $3,680 in Arklow, rent included.

Seoul $2,863
Arklow $3,680

A family of three spends $3,931 per month in Seoul vs $4,737 in Arklow, rent included.

Seoul $3,931
Arklow $4,737

Seoul is about 32% cheaper than Arklow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Seoul and Arklow sit above the global median – Seoul by 33%, Arklow by 94%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$22.34 €19.87

-60.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩91.2K

$89.5 €79.6

-23.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.1K

$11.25 €10.01

-32.98%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,644

$4.12 €3.67

2.67%

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

$1.63 ₩2,175

$2.93 €2.60

-44.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩988

$2.25 €2.00

-67.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,860

$5.47 €4.86

-33.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,203

$5.16 €4.58

19.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,688

$1.69 €1.50

18.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,178

$2.23 €1.99

40.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,764

$1.90 €1.69

127.37%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,810

$4.64 €4.12

-22.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.8K

$14.19 €12.62

25.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$13.17 €11.71

-20.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.4K

$16.67 €14.83

54.77%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$3.26 €2.90

134.97%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,514

$2.90 €2.58

16.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,750

$3.42 €3.04

69.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,549

$4.70 €4.18

36.38%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩5,000

$2.36 €2.10

58.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,387

$1.83 €1.62

38.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,796

$1.45 €1.29

95.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,477

$2.15 €1.91

-48.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,470

$20.31 €18.07

-83.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.7K

$13.59 €12.09

36.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,196

$4.08 €3.63

-41.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,495

$3.61 €3.21

-6.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,526

$2.40 €2.14

-52.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,660

$5.18 €4.61

-32.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩843

$1.54 €1.37

-59.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

$33.30 €29.62

-73.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,012

$2.12 €1.89

-28.77%

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

$29.3K ₩39.1M

$38.8K €34.5K

-24.53%

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

$28.2K ₩37.6M

$37.3K €33.2K

-24.38%

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

$218 ₩290.2K

$240 €213

-9.33%

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

$35.15 ₩46.9K

$22.10 €19.65

59.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.4K

$55.2 €49.08

-61.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.5K

$57.5 €51.2

0.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.5K

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.1K

$13.58 €12.08

-16.72%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$1,066 €948

82.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.5M

$5,404 €4,807

322.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩76.1K

$93.9 €83.5

-39.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.5K

$43.32 €38.53

-22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.4K

$106 €94.6

-32.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩110.1K

$118 €105

-30.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

$1,566 €1,393

-42.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩816.3K

$1,325 €1,178

-53.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$2,857 €2,541

-11.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$1,819 €1,618

-30.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.3M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

$4,863 €4,325

-24.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

4.14

-1.45%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Arklow: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Arklow

$1.3K 50.5% 117% $713

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Arklow

$392 14.9% 17.8% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Arklow

$317 12.1% 15.8% $43

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Arklow

$320 12.2% 74.3% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Arklow

$163 6.2% 47.9% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Arklow

$85 3.2% 4.9% $4

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Arklow

$23 * 0.9% 60.7% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $901 in Seoul versus $1,566 in Arklow. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 33% higher in Arklow, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68.0 in Seoul versus $89.0 in Arklow. Groceries tell a different story – $477 in Seoul vs $392 in Arklow – so Arklow wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇮🇪 Arklow

🕒 Local time

20:33 8:33 PM

12:33 12:33 PM

8 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

13,399

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,334 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,500 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Seoul Arklow 9,000 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Seoul
Arklow

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

Seoul vs Arklow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,794 in Seoul, $2,624 in Arklow – roughly 46% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,692 per month in Seoul and $3,936 in Arklow. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Seoul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68.0 in Seoul and $89.0 in Arklow. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 22% cheaper in Arklow – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Seoul, where all-in costs run around $1,794, than in Arklow at $2,624. In Seoul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arklow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Seoul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Seoul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arklow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.