Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taguig City and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Taguig City: $1,017 a month against $1,804 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Taguig City
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Taguig City Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Taguig City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$1,017

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taguig City 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 Taguig City and in Seoul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,017 per month in Taguig City vs $1,804 in Seoul, rent included.

Taguig City $1,017
Seoul $1,804

A couple spends around $1,533 per month in Taguig City vs $2,877 in Seoul, rent included.

Taguig City $1,533
Seoul $2,877

A family of three spends $2,049 per month in Taguig City vs $3,950 in Seoul, rent included.

Taguig City $2,049
Seoul $3,950

Taguig City is about 44% cheaper than Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Taguig City sits 25% below the global median, while Seoul is 33% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 ₱246

$9.10 ₩12.1K

-57.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.47 ₱1,666

$66.7 ₩88.6K

-60.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.09 ₱195

$7.49 ₩9,959

-58.74%

Cappuccino

$2.47 ₱156

$4.19 ₩5,569

-41.05%

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

$0.74 ₱46.34

$1.55 ₩2,067

-52.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 ₱27.39

$0.79 ₩1,055

-44.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 ₱75.6

$3.64 ₩4,846

-67.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 ₱151

$6.14 ₩8,164

-61.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 ₱121

$2.11 ₩2,811

-9.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ₱90.7

$3.05 ₩4,051

-52.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 ₱55.4

$4.21 ₩5,599

-79.10%

Eggs

$1.77 ₱112

$3.54 ₩4,709

-50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.13 ₱323

$18.02 ₩24.0K

-71.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.59 ₱289

$10.35 ₩13.8K

-55.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.01 ₱504

$26.47 ₩35.2K

-69.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₱144

$7.91 ₩10.5K

-71.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 ₱115

$3.44 ₩4,578

-47.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 ₱173

$5.64 ₩7,493

-51.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱67.0

$6.41 ₩8,517

-83.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 ₱104

$3.71 ₩4,938

-55.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.66 ₱168

$2.52 ₩3,345

5.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 ₱101

$2.87 ₩3,816

-44.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₱34.73

$1.16 ₩1,536

-52.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 ₱184

$3.37 ₩4,480

-13.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.67 ₱546

$18.72 ₩24.9K

-53.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₱80.6

$2.28 ₩3,036

-43.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 ₱126

$3.31 ₩4,397

-39.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 ₱12.57

$1.13 ₩1,497

-82.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.73 ₩62.1K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.78 ₱49.42

$3.52 ₩4,684

-77.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.45

$0.64 ₩849

-64.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 ₱121

$8.76 ₩11.7K

-78.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ₱78.7

$1.45 ₩1,930

-13.79%

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

$21.2K ₱1.3M

$29.7K ₩39.4M

-28.55%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-31.36%

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

$110 ₱6,907

$211 ₩280.4K

-47.97%

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

$15.53 ₱978

$35.36 ₩47.0K

-56.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.08 ₱1,453

$20.57 ₩27.4K

12.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.31 ₱2,538

$57.7 ₩76.7K

-30.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.20 ₩21.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.58 ₱414

$11.37 ₩15.1K

-42.13%

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

$133 ₱8,378

$1,967 ₩2.6M

-93.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,811 ₱554.7K

$22.8K ₩30.3M

-61.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.50 ₱2,550

$57.5 ₩76.4K

-29.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.26 ₱1,716

$33.08 ₩44.0K

-17.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.8 ₱4,207

$70.1 ₩93.2K

-4.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.4 ₱3,674

$84.3 ₩112.0K

-30.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 ₱39.3K

$878 ₩1.2M

-28.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$443 ₱27.9K

$624 ₩829.7K

-28.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,553 ₱160.8K

$2,513 ₩3.3M

1.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$819 ₱51.6K

$1,287 ₩1.7M

-36.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,934 ₱247.7K

$30.4K ₩40.4M

-87.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,346 ₱84.7K

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-88.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$467 ₱29.4K

$3,599 ₩4.8M

-87.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.83

4.08

67.40%

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

Last update for Taguig City: October 18, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taguig City

$443 43.6%

Seoul

$624 34.6% 40.8% $181

Groceries & Markets

Taguig City

$196 19.3%

Seoul

$480 26.6% 144% $283

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taguig City

$148 14.6%

Seoul

$267 14.8% 79.9% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Taguig City

$87 8.5%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 26.9% $23

Eating Out

Taguig City

$86 8.4%

Seoul

$185 10.3% 117% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Taguig City

$53 5.3%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 50.5% $27

Getting Around

Taguig City

$2.7 * 0.3%

Seoul

$58 3.2% 2023% $55

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $624 in Taguig City versus $878 in Seoul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 670% higher in Seoul, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $26.00 in Taguig City versus $67.0 in Seoul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $196 vs $480 – making Taguig City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Taguig City

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

08:59 8:59 AM

09:59 9:59 AM

1 h ahead of Taguig City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,397

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 23, 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 PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taguig City Seoul 2,630 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Taguig City
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

Taguig City vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Seoul costs about 77% more than Taguig City, 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 $1,525 per month in Taguig City and $2,707 in Seoul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,017 in Taguig City and $1,804 in Seoul. That's a gap of about 77%.

Kindergarten costs $133 per month in Taguig City and $1,967 in Seoul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Taguig City, where all-in costs run around $1,017, than in Seoul at $1,804. In Taguig City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Seoul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Taguig City costs $1,017 versus $1,804 in Seoul. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 Taguig City. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Seoul makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.