Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Huzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Huzhou: $804 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
Learn more

Seoul Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Huzhou
Learn more

Huzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Huzhou

🇨🇳 China

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Huzhou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,794 in Seoul versus $804 in Huzhou.

Seoul $1,794
Huzhou $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,863 in Seoul versus $1,330 in Huzhou.

Seoul $2,863
Huzhou $1,330

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Seoul versus $1,856 in Huzhou.

Seoul $3,931
Huzhou $1,856

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$4.37 ¥29.24

101.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩90.9K

$30.27 ¥202

125.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.0K

$5.38 ¥35.94

40.15%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,624

$3.28 ¥21.91

28.96%

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

$1.63 ₩2,167

$0.61 ¥4.10

167.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩985

$0.38 ¥2.54

94.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,843

$1.23 ¥8.24

195.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,175

$2.27 ¥15.15

170.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,679

$1.78 ¥11.90

12.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,164

$1.97 ¥13.16

58.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,744

$1.04 ¥6.92

315.38%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,794

$1.72 ¥11.52

109.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.7K

$16.96 ¥113

5.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$3.21 ¥21.48

225.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.3K

$12.93 ¥86.5

99.54%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$2.21 ¥14.80

246.61%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,499

$1.65 ¥11.06

104.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,723

$2.01 ¥13.46

189.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,520

$1.67 ¥11.14

283.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩4,983

$0.77 ¥5.12

387.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,375

$0.94 ¥6.26

170.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,782

$0.66 ¥4.43

330.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,472

$0.59 ¥3.92

88.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,455

$3.72 ¥24.88

-9.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.6K

$10.80 ¥72.2

71.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,185

$0.89 ¥5.93

169.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,480

$1.62 ¥10.81

108.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,521

$0.29 ¥1.91

293.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.3K

$16.29 ¥109

183.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,643

$2.04 ¥13.64

71.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩840

$0.47 ¥3.13

34.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

$8.81 ¥58.9

0.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,005

$1.28 ¥8.53

17.97%

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

$29.3K ₩38.9M

$19.5K ¥130.3K

50.17%

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

$28.2K ₩37.5M

$18.5K ¥124.0K

52.15%

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

$218 ₩289.2K

$56.6 ¥379

284.11%

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

$35.15 ₩46.7K

$7.85 ¥52.5

347.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.3K

$10.59 ¥70.8

101.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.2K

$46.67 ¥312

24.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.4K

$13.48 ¥90.1

19.44%

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.0K

$9.16 ¥61.3

23.47%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$425 ¥2,840

358.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.4M

$27.5K ¥183.9K

-16.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩75.8K

$54.9 ¥367

3.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.4K

$37.32 ¥250

-10.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.0K

$74.4 ¥497

-3.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩109.7K

$104 ¥695

-20.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

$300 ¥2,006

200.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩813.5K

$181 ¥1,210

238.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$617 ¥4,122

309.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$409 ¥2,735

209.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.1M

$3,531 ¥23.6K

733.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

$1,935 ¥12.9K

515.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

$1,179 ¥7,884

209.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.36

21.43%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Huzhou: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Huzhou

$181 22.5% 70.4% $431

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Huzhou

$235 29.2% 50.8% $242

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Huzhou

$75 9.3% 72.6% $199

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Huzhou

$105 13.1% 42.8% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Huzhou

$122 15.1% 10.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Huzhou

$65 8.1% 19.4% $16

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Huzhou

$22 2.7% 62% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $901 in Seoul and $300 in Huzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 210% 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 $30.00 in Huzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $235 per month, with Huzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇨🇳 Huzhou

🕒 Local time

16:14 4:14 PM

15:14 3:14 PM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

2,893,542

💱 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 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

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Seoul Huzhou 980 km ≈ 1 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 Huzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Huzhou is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 210% 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 $300 in Huzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 103% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Huzhou – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $68.0 in Seoul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $804 in Huzhou versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Huzhou but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Huzhou 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 Huzhou 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 Huzhou 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.