Cost of Living · CA vs KR
🇨🇦 Toronto vs 🇰🇷 Seoul: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $2,121 in Canada vs $1,334 in South Korea — 37% cheaper.
- Essentials, Canada
- $2,121/mo
- Essentials, South Korea
- $1,334/mo
- Difference
- -37%
- 1-bed city rent, South Korea
- $894/mo
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in South Korea
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -41%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -41%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -41%
Closest to Canada prices
- Running shoes (brand): -14%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -14%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -14%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | Canada | South Korea | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,515 | $894 (1,271,861 KRW) | -41% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,212 | $715 (1,017,486 KRW) | -41% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $2,770 | $1,635 (2,325,691 KRW) | -41% |
| Food out | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $16.07 | $10.62 (15,106 KRW) | -34% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $66.96 | $44.25 (62,943 KRW) | -34% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $9.92 | $6.81 (9,687 KRW) | -31% |
| Groceries | |||
| Milk, 1L | $1.01 | $0.75 (1,067 KRW) | -26% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.95 | $2.18 (3,101 KRW) | -26% |
| Eggs, dozen | $3.13 | $2.32 (3,300 KRW) | -26% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $9.21 | $6.81 (9,687 KRW) | -26% |
| White rice, 1kg | $3.68 | $2.73 (3,883 KRW) | -26% |
| Apples, 1kg | $4.42 | $3.27 (4,651 KRW) | -26% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $11.05 | $8.18 (11,636 KRW) | -26% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.84 | $1.36 (1,935 KRW) | -26% |
| Drinks | |||
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $5.36 | $3.54 (5,035 KRW) | -34% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $7.68 | $6.60 (9,388 KRW) | -14% |
| Cappuccino | $4.46 | $2.95 (4,196 KRW) | -34% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.12 | $1.57 (2,233 KRW) | -26% |
| Transport | |||
| Public transport, monthly pass | $58.63 | $40.24 (57,239 KRW) | -31% |
| Public transport, one-way | $2.48 | $1.70 (2,418 KRW) | -31% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $3.57 | $2.36 (3,357 KRW) | -34% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.61 | $1.06 (1,508 KRW) | -34% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.91 | $0.78 (1,110 KRW) | -14% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $180 | $124 (176,098 KRW) | -31% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $63.14 | $43.33 (61,634 KRW) | -31% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $40.59 | $27.86 (39,629 KRW) | -31% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Gym membership, month | $44.64 | $29.50 (41,962 KRW) | -34% |
| Cinema seat | $12.50 | $8.26 (11,749 KRW) | -34% |
| Men's haircut | $26.78 | $17.70 (25,177 KRW) | -34% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $52.78 | $45.40 (64,579 KRW) | -14% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $86.36 | $74.29 (105,673 KRW) | -14% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $223 | $148 (209,810 KRW) | -34% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Beyond prices
What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about 10,598 km apart as the crow flies.
| Measure | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $3,650 | $2,316 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,357 | $797 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 37.2% | 34.4% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $974 | $1,058 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Toronto and Seoul. | 69 | 76 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.6 (low) | 2 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 8 + 23 regional | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 9 | 19.2 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 82.1 | 83.6 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 2 | 0.5 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 94.4% | 97.9% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 262.6 | 273.4 |
Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?
Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.
🇨🇦 Canada
14.6 pts
22.6% of your income vs 37.2% of a local wage
🇰🇷 South Korea
21.1 pts
13.3% of your income vs 34.4% of a local wage
Worked at $6,000/month. Run it on your own income
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Frequently asked questions
- How much cheaper is South Korea than Canada?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,334 in South Korea versus $2,121 in Canada — 37% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in South Korea?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.54 in South Korea (≈ 5035.44 KRW), versus about $5.36 in Canada.
- How much is rent in South Korea compared to Canada?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $894/month in South Korea versus $1,515/month in Canada (-41%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- How are these prices estimated?
- Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.