Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Yarra and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Seoul: $1,794 a month against $2,436 in South Yarra, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in South Yarra
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South Yarra Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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South Yarra

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,436

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in South Yarra and in Seoul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in South Yarra and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,436 per month in South Yarra vs $1,794 in Seoul, rent included.

South Yarra $2,436
Seoul $1,794

A couple spends around $3,527 per month in South Yarra vs $2,863 in Seoul, rent included.

South Yarra $3,527
Seoul $2,863

A family of three spends $4,618 per month in South Yarra vs $3,931 in Seoul, rent included.

South Yarra $4,618
Seoul $3,931

South Yarra costs about 36% more than Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both South Yarra and Seoul sit above the global median – South Yarra by 80%, Seoul by 33%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.64 A$25.39

$8.80 ₩11.7K

100.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 A$122

$68.4 ₩90.9K

23.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.25 A$11.87

$7.54 ₩10.0K

9.42%

Cappuccino

$3.53 A$5.08

$4.23 ₩5,624

-16.55%

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

$2.07 A$2.98

$1.63 ₩2,167

26.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 A$2.46

$0.74 ₩985

131.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.78 A$14.08

$3.64 ₩4,843

168.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.24 A$11.85

$6.15 ₩8,175

33.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 A$2.22

$2.01 ₩2,679

-23.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 A$3.95

$3.13 ₩4,164

-12.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 A$2.03

$4.32 ₩5,744

-67.36%

Eggs

$4.24 A$6.10

$3.61 ₩4,794

17.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.35 A$14.89

$17.83 ₩23.7K

-41.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 A$9.99

$10.45 ₩13.9K

-33.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.17 A$21.83

$25.80 ₩34.3K

-41.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 A$4.10

$7.66 ₩10.2K

-62.79%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 A$2.92

$3.38 ₩4,499

-39.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 A$1.95

$5.81 ₩7,723

-76.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.80 A$4.03

$6.41 ₩8,520

-56.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 A$2.03

$3.75 ₩4,983

-62.40%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 A$3.04

$2.54 ₩3,375

-16.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.41 A$3.47

$2.84 ₩3,782

-15.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 A$2.35

$1.11 ₩1,472

47.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$31.82 A$45.79

$3.35 ₩4,455

849.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.30 A$17.69

$18.49 ₩24.6K

-33.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.70 A$8.20

$2.40 ₩3,185

137.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.26 A$7.56

$3.37 ₩4,480

56.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.92 A$4.20

$1.14 ₩1,521

156.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$81.7 A$118

$46.11 ₩61.3K

77.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 A$6.43

$3.49 ₩4,643

28.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.05

$0.63 ₩840

125.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.47 A$43.85

$8.86 ₩11.8K

243.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 A$1.88

$1.51 ₩2,005

-13.25%

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

$28.4K A$40.9K

$29.3K ₩38.9M

-2.85%

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

$26.6K A$38.2K

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-5.83%

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

$232 A$334

$218 ₩289.2K

6.64%

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

$27.31 A$39.30

$35.15 ₩46.7K

-22.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.68 A$60.0

$21.29 ₩28.3K

95.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.2 A$79.4

$58.1 ₩77.2K

-5.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.96 A$24.40

$16.10 ₩21.4K

5.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.70 A$19.71

$11.31 ₩15.0K

21.13%

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

$2,417 A$3,478

$1,948 ₩2.6M

24.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.4K A$43.7K

$22.9K ₩30.4M

32.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.4 A$117

$57.0 ₩75.8K

42.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.8 A$73.1

$33.39 ₩44.4K

52.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 A$168

$71.5 ₩95.0K

63.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$82.5 ₩109.7K

60.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 A$1,967

$901 ₩1.2M

51.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 A$1,674

$612 ₩813.5K

90.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,109 A$3,035

$2,526 ₩3.4M

-16.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,788 A$2,573

$1,266 ₩1.7M

41.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,707 A$8,212

$29.4K ₩39.1M

-80.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,659 A$8,143

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-52.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,650 ₩4.9M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.08

44.61%

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

Last update for South Yarra: October 11, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

South Yarra

$1.2K 47.8%

Seoul

$612 34.1% 47.4% $551

Groceries & Markets

South Yarra

$324 13.3%

Seoul

$477 26.6% 47.2% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

South Yarra

$301 12.4%

Seoul

$274 15.3% 9% $27

Eating Out

South Yarra

$289 11.9%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 36.4% $105

Clothing & Footwear

South Yarra

$172 7%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 35.9% $62

Getting Around

South Yarra

$105 4.3%

Seoul

$57 3.2% 45.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

South Yarra

$83 3.4%

Seoul

$81 4.5% 2.3% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,367 in South Yarra versus $901 in Seoul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in South Yarra versus $68.0 in Seoul. Groceries tell a different story – $324 in South Yarra vs $477 in Seoul – so South Yarra wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇺 South Yarra

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

23:10 11:10 PM

2 h behind South Yarra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,147

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

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).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

South Yarra Seoul 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

South Yarra
Seoul

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

South Yarra vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

South Yarra costs about 36% more than Seoul, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,654 per month in South Yarra and $2,692 in Seoul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Seoul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 77% less in Seoul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,417 per month in South Yarra and $1,948 in Seoul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Seoul, where all-in costs run around $1,794, than in South Yarra at $2,436. In Seoul it covers expenses comfortably, while in South Yarra it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Seoul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Seoul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, South Yarra makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.