Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index

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Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,794 in Seoul versus $806 in Haikou.

Seoul $1,794
Haikou $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,863 in Seoul versus $1,152 in Haikou.

Seoul $2,863
Haikou $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Seoul versus $1,497 in Haikou.

Seoul $3,931
Haikou $1,497

Living in Seoul is roughly 123% more expensive than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Seoul is 33% above, Haikou is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$4.40 ¥29.41

100.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩91.2K

$14.72 ¥98.3

364.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.1K

$6.02 ¥40.20

25.25%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,644

$2.43 ¥16.23

74.07%

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

$1.63 ₩2,175

$0.86 ¥5.73

89.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩988

$0.34 ¥2.26

117.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,860

$1.51 ¥10.05

141.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,203

$2.72 ¥18.15

126.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,688

$2.13 ¥14.24

-5.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,178

$1.48 ¥9.89

111.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,764

$0.66 ¥4.39

554.55%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,810

$1.36 ¥9.06

165.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.8K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$3.92 ¥26.20

166.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.4K

$15.42 ¥103

67.32%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$1.69 ¥11.29

353.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,514

$0.87 ¥5.79

288.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,750

$1.11 ¥7.39

423.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,549

$0.93 ¥6.23

589.25%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩5,000

$0.89 ¥5.94

321.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,387

$0.73 ¥4.85

247.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,796

$0.47 ¥3.11

504.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,477

$0.57 ¥3.83

94.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,470

$3.09 ¥20.65

8.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.7K

$8.76 ¥58.5

111.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,196

$0.57 ¥3.83

321.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,495

$1.23 ¥8.22

173.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,526

$0.92 ¥6.16

23.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.5K

$53.3 ¥356

-13.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,660

$2.19 ¥14.64

59.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩843

$0.43 ¥2.86

46.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,012

$1.22 ¥8.14

23.77%

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

$29.3K ₩39.1M

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

$28.2K ₩37.6M

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

$218 ₩290.2K

$35.41 ¥236

514.29%

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

$35.15 ₩46.9K

$13.21 ¥88.2

166.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.4K

$13.38 ¥89.3

59.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.5K

$45.67 ¥305

27.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.5K

$6.33 ¥42.30

154.34%

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.1K

$4.50 ¥30.06

151.33%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$862 ¥5,753

126.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.5M

$19.5K ¥130.2K

17.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩76.1K

$27.00 ¥180

111.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.5K

$34.89 ¥233

-4.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.4K

$44.76 ¥299

59.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩110.1K

$37.57 ¥251

119.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

$377 ¥2,519

138.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩816.3K

$294 ¥1,964

108.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$570 ¥3,803

343.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$369 ¥2,466

242.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.3M

$3,154 ¥21.1K

832.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.9M

$2,183 ¥14.6K

445.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

$727 ¥4,852

402.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.85

5.97%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Haikou

$294 36.5% 51.9% $318

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Haikou

$169 * 20.9% 64.7% $308

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Haikou

$62 7.7% 77.4% $212

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Haikou

$100 12.4% 45.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Haikou

$65 8.1% 41% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Haikou

$55 6.8% 32.2% $26

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Haikou

$61 7.6% 6.9% $4

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 $901 in Seoul and $377 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 402% 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 $15.00 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $169 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

06:36 6:36 AM

05:36 5:36 AM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

2,873,358

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.67 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,334 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,500 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.67 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 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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Seoul Haikou 2,530 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

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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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul and Haikou differ by about 123% in total monthly costs ($1,794 vs $806 including rent). Haikou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 402% 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 $377 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,794 per month in Seoul versus $806 in Haikou – a 123% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 16% less than in Seoul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $806 in Haikou versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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 Haikou 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 Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 123% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.