City comparison
Cost of living in Seoul vs Rome
One person needs about €1,639 a month in Seoul and €1,777 in Rome, rent included — Seoul is 8% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Rome the way you live in Seoul on €3,000, you need
€3,253/ month net
8% more than today (+€253)
- Seoul today
- Basket €1,639 · left over €1,361 (45%)
- Rome at the matched salary
- Basket €1,777 · left over €1,476 (45%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 129% over in Rome (tight) vs 207% in Seoul. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇰🇷 Seoul
Fast everything, plus jeonse deposits that catch foreigners off guard.
Monthly budget: €1,639
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇮🇹 Rome
Cheap transport and cheap coffee; bureaucracy and low local wages are the trade-off.
Monthly budget: €1,777
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Seoul or Rome?
On salary, Seoul pays more for tech roles (€3,400 versus €2,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,761 in Seoul at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,050 in Seoul against €1,150 in Rome. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Seoul at 71 and Rome at 72 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.