Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Santa Cruz, Laguna

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Cruz, Laguna: $626 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz, Laguna
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Santa Cruz, Laguna Living Index

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Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz, Laguna

🇵🇭 Philippines

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Santa Cruz, Laguna

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 Santa Cruz, Laguna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,794 in Seoul versus $626 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Seoul $1,794
Santa Cruz, Laguna $626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,863 in Seoul versus $931 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Seoul $2,863
Santa Cruz, Laguna $931

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Seoul versus $1,236 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Seoul $3,931
Santa Cruz, Laguna $1,236

Living in Seoul is roughly 186% more expensive than in Santa Cruz, Laguna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Seoul is 33% above, Santa Cruz, Laguna is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.80 ₩11.7K

$1.57 ₱99.0

460.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.4 ₩90.9K

$8.09 ₱509

745.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₩10.0K

$2.76 ₱174

173.19%

Cappuccino

$4.23 ₩5,624

$1.78 ₱112

137.64%

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

$1.63 ₩2,167

$0.38 ₱23.98

328.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ₩985

$0.23 ₱14.42

221.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,843

$0.99 ₱62.2

267.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 ₩8,175

$0.99 ₱62.1

521.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.01 ₩2,679

$1.63 ₱103

23.31%

White Bread (500g)

$3.13 ₩4,164

$1.16 ₱72.9

169.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.32 ₩5,744

$1.00 ₱63.3

332.00%

Eggs

$3.61 ₩4,794

$1.55 ₱97.5

132.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.83 ₩23.7K

$4.65 ₱293

283.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 ₩13.9K

$3.50 ₱220

198.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.80 ₩34.3K

$7.07 ₱445

264.92%

Apples (1kg)

$7.66 ₩10.2K

$1.46 ₱92.1

424.66%

Banana (1kg)

$3.38 ₩4,499

$0.46 ₱28.85

634.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.81 ₩7,723

$1.44 ₱91.0

303.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,520

$1.02 ₱64.2

528.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₩4,983

$1.76 ₱111

113.07%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 ₩3,375

$1.74 ₱109

45.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.84 ₩3,782

$0.67 ₱41.99

323.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 ₩1,472

$0.53 ₱33.46

109.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₩4,455

$2.89 ₱182

15.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.6K

$8.60 ₱541

115.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₩3,185

$0.97 ₱61.0

147.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 ₩4,480

$2.08 ₱131

62.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,521

$0.21 ₱13.40

442.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.11 ₩61.3K

$11.41 ₱718

304.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.49 ₩4,643

$0.81 ₱51.2

330.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 ₩840

$0.23 ₱14.36

173.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₩11.8K

$1.92 ₱121

361.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₩2,005

$1.25 ₱78.7

20.80%

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

$29.3K ₩38.9M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

38.09%

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

$28.2K ₩37.5M

$19.2K ₱1.2M

46.54%

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

$218 ₩289.2K

$85.1 ₱5,359

155.55%

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

$35.15 ₩46.7K

$17.58 ₱1,107

99.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.29 ₩28.3K

$23.61 ₱1,487

-9.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 ₩77.2K

$31.48 ₱1,982

84.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.10 ₩21.4K

$4.14 ₱261

288.89%

Cinema Ticket

$11.31 ₩15.0K

$5.13 ₱323

120.47%

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

$1,948 ₩2.6M

$134 ₱8,442

1352.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K ₩30.4M

$10.7K ₱675.9K

112.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 ₩75.8K

$28.89 ₱1,819

97.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.39 ₩44.4K

$19.72 ₱1,242

69.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.5 ₩95.0K

$72.5 ₱4,565

-1.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.5 ₩109.7K

$55.8 ₱3,515

47.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$901 ₩1.2M

$242 ₱15.2K

271.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 ₩813.5K

$157 ₱9,895

289.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,526 ₩3.4M

$475 ₱29.9K

431.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,266 ₩1.7M

$302 ₱19.0K

319.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$29.4K ₩39.1M

$2,296 ₱144.5K

1181.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

$886 ₱55.8K

1243.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

6.75

-39.56%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Cruz, Laguna: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$612 34.1%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$157 25.1% 74.3% $455

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$477 26.6%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$156 24.9% 67.3% $321

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$274 15.3%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$126 20.2% 53.9% $148

Eating Out

Seoul

$184 10.2%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$52 8.2% 71.9% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$80 12.7% 27.6% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$81 4.5%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$42 6.7% 48.3% $39

Getting Around

Seoul

$57 3.2%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$14 2.3% 75.2% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $901 in Seoul and $242 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Seoul vs $8.00 in Santa Cruz, Laguna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $477 vs $156 per month, with Santa Cruz, Laguna cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇵🇭 Santa Cruz, Laguna

🕒 Local time

09:29 9:29 AM

08:29 8:29 AM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

123,574

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Seoul Santa Cruz, Laguna 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Seoul
Santa Cruz, Laguna

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 Santa Cruz, Laguna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul and Santa Cruz, Laguna differ by about 186% in total monthly costs ($1,794 vs $626 including rent). Santa Cruz, Laguna is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,692 in Seoul and $940 in Santa Cruz, Laguna to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $901 in Seoul versus $242 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,948 in Seoul versus $134 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 206% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $626 in Santa Cruz, Laguna versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Cruz, Laguna but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Cruz, Laguna 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 Santa Cruz, Laguna 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 Santa Cruz, Laguna gentler on the wallet – expenses run 186% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.