Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Burnie

For one person, living is cheaper in Burnie: $1,614 a month against $1,822 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Burnie
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Burnie Living Index

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Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,822

/mo nomad

Burnie

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Burnie

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 Burnie actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,822 in Seoul versus $1,614 in Burnie.

Seoul $1,822
Burnie $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,847 in Seoul versus $2,472 in Burnie.

Seoul $2,847
Burnie $2,472

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,872 in Seoul versus $3,330 in Burnie.

Seoul $3,872
Burnie $3,330

Living in Seoul is roughly 13% more expensive than in Burnie, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Seoul 36% above, Burnie 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.10 ₩12.2K

$18.28 A$26.16

-50.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.0 ₩89.8K

$90.6 A$130

-26.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.42 ₩9,941

$5.42 A$7.75

36.90%

Cappuccino

$4.08 ₩5,470

$3.96 A$5.66

3.03%

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

$1.60 ₩2,141

$3.52 A$5.03

-54.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 ₩1,078

$1.69 A$2.42

-52.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.65 ₩4,886

$4.17 A$5.97

-12.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.94 ₩7,956

$5.97 A$8.54

-0.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ₩2,742

$1.84 A$2.63

11.41%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₩4,130

$2.50 A$3.57

23.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 ₩5,646

$1.91 A$2.73

120.42%

Eggs

$3.57 ₩4,784

$4.88 A$6.98

-26.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.95 ₩24.1K

$9.64 A$13.80

86.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.64 ₩14.3K

$6.16 A$8.81

72.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.44 ₩35.4K

$17.17 A$24.57

53.99%

Apples (1kg)

$7.42 ₩9,946

$2.80 A$4.01

165.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.53 ₩4,732

$2.80 A$4.01

26.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.87 ₩7,866

$2.07 A$2.97

183.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.37 ₩8,534

$2.75 A$3.93

131.64%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩5,028

$2.64 A$3.78

42.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 ₩3,337

$2.11 A$3.02

18.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.92 ₩3,911

$2.06 A$2.94

41.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 ₩1,542

$1.61 A$2.30

-28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.29 ₩4,408

$35.56 A$50.9

-90.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.8K

$14.28 A$20.44

29.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 ₩3,057

$3.46 A$4.95

-34.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 ₩4,398

$5.55 A$7.94

-40.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,526

$1.88 A$2.69

-39.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.47 ₩60.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.48 ₩4,663

$2.67 A$3.82

30.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.60 ₩803

$2.13 A$3.04

-71.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.70 ₩11.7K

$42.27 A$60.5

-79.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₩2,004

$1.29 A$1.85

16.28%

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

$29.1K ₩39.0M

$26.4K A$37.8K

10.12%

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

$28.2K ₩37.8M

$31.4K A$44.9K

-10.11%

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

$209 ₩279.9K

$212 A$303

-1.25%

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

$35.13 ₩47.1K

$20.99 A$30.03

67.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.18 ₩28.4K

$48.19 A$69.0

-56.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.3 ₩76.8K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.89 ₩21.3K

Cinema Ticket

$11.33 ₩15.2K

$14.01 A$20.06

-19.13%

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

$1,902 ₩2.5M

$2,000 A$2,862

-4.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K ₩30.2M

$20.8K A$29.8K

8.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 ₩78.9K

$78.7 A$113

-25.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.12 ₩43.0K

$24.16 A$34.57

32.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 ₩94.0K

$107 A$153

-34.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩110.5K

$92.8 A$133

-11.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$885 ₩1.2M

$799 A$1,144

10.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$624 ₩835.5K

$575 A$823

8.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,494 ₩3.3M

$1,128 A$1,614

121.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 ₩1.7M

$838 A$1,199

52.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.8K ₩40.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.8K ₩15.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,649 ₩4.9M

$5,051 A$7,229

-27.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

5.6

-27.14%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 4, 2026

Last update for Burnie: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$624 34.7%

Burnie

$575 35.2% 7.7% $48

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$479 26.7%

Burnie

$331 20.2% 30.9% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$265 14.8%

Burnie

$281 17.2% 5.8% $16

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Burnie

$264 16.1% 43.5% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Burnie

$136 8.3% 24.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$80 4.5%

Burnie

$28 * 1.7% 65% $52

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.1%

Burnie

$21 * 1.3% 63.1% $36

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 $885 in Seoul and $799 in Burnie. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burnie pays 38% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Seoul vs $91.0 in Burnie. Groceries flip the comparison at $479 vs $331, with Burnie cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇦🇺 Burnie

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

17:30 5:30 PM

2 h ahead of Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

20,267

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.46 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.65 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

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).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

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Seoul Burnie 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Burnie: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Burnie is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Burnie. 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: $885 in Seoul versus $799 in Burnie. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,822 per month in Seoul versus $1,614 in Burnie – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,614 in Burnie versus $1,822 in Seoul, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Burnie but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Burnie 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, Seoul and Burnie 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 Burnie gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.