Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Guizhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Guizhou: $598 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Guizhou
Learn more

Guizhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Guizhou

🇨🇳 China

$598

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Guizhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,794 in Seoul versus $598 in Guizhou.

Seoul $1,794
Guizhou $598

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,863 in Seoul versus $964 in Guizhou.

Seoul $2,863
Guizhou $964

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Seoul versus $1,329 in Guizhou.

Seoul $3,931
Guizhou $1,329

Living in Seoul is roughly 200% more expensive than in Guizhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Seoul is 33% above, Guizhou is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$2.66 ¥17.78

230.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩90.9K

$21.16 ¥141

223.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.0K

$5.83 ¥38.92

29.33%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,624

$2.89 ¥19.31

46.37%

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

$1.63 ₩2,167

$0.50 ¥3.32

226.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩985

$0.27 ¥1.81

174.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,843

$0.78 ¥5.19

366.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,175

$1.85 ¥12.33

232.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,679

$1.80 ¥12.01

11.67%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,164

$1.69 ¥11.28

85.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,744

$0.79 ¥5.30

446.84%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,794

$1.98 ¥13.21

82.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.7K

$7.27 ¥48.55

145.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$4.56 ¥30.46

129.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.3K

$10.96 ¥73.2

135.40%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$2.10 ¥14.00

264.76%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,499

$1.62 ¥10.81

108.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,723

$1.58 ¥10.54

267.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,520

$1.41 ¥9.40

354.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩4,983

$0.69 ¥4.59

443.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,375

$0.78 ¥5.23

225.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,782

$0.36 ¥2.40

688.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,472

$0.58 ¥3.86

91.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,455

$3.02 ¥20.17

10.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.6K

$7.62 ¥50.9

142.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,185

$0.85 ¥5.64

182.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,480

$1.16 ¥7.78

190.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,521

$0.35 ¥2.37

225.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.3K

$27.28 ¥182

69.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,643

$1.52 ¥10.14

129.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩840

$0.31 ¥2.07

103.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

$5.09 ¥33.99

74.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,005

$1.28 ¥8.56

17.97%

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

$29.3K ₩38.9M

$18.5K ¥123.7K

58.03%

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

$28.2K ₩37.5M

$15.6K ¥104.3K

80.63%

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

$218 ₩289.2K

$28.58 ¥191

661.09%

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

$35.15 ₩46.7K

$6.52 ¥43.54

439.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.3K

$5.96 ¥39.77

257.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.2K

$22.00 ¥147

163.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.4K

$12.13 ¥81.0

32.73%

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.0K

$7.30 ¥48.71

54.93%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$244 ¥1,631

697.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.4M

$11.1K ¥74.4K

105.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩75.8K

$33.87 ¥226

68.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.4K

$22.23 ¥148

50.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.0K

$73.8 ¥493

-3.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩109.7K

$41.91 ¥280

96.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

$267 ¥1,785

236.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩813.5K

$137 ¥912

348.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$385 ¥2,572

555.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$241 ¥1,609

425.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.1M

$1,816 ¥12.1K

1520.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

$1,106 ¥7,386

976.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

$682 ¥4,550

435.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.4

20.00%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Guizhou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Guizhou

$137 22.8% 77.7% $475

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Guizhou

$191 31.9% 60% $286

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Guizhou

$41 6.9% 85% $233

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Guizhou

$84 14.1% 54.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Guizhou

$77 12.9% 29.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Guizhou

$37 6.1% 54.6% $44

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Guizhou

$32 5.3% 44.6% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $901 in Seoul and $267 in Guizhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 436% 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: $68.0 in Seoul vs $21.00 in Guizhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $191 per month, with Guizhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇨🇳 Guizhou

🕒 Local time

18:53 6:53 PM

17:53 5:53 PM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

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Between locations

Seoul Guizhou 1,660 km ≈ 2 h 30 min 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 Guizhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guizhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 200% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 436% higher in Seoul, 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: $901 in Seoul versus $267 in Guizhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Guizhou runs roughly 69% less than in Seoul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,948 in Seoul versus $244 in Guizhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $598 in Guizhou versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Guizhou but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Guizhou 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 Guizhou 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 Guizhou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 200% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.