Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Seoul vs Vienna

One person needs about €1,639 a month in Seoul and €1,856 in Vienna, rent included — Seoul is 13% cheaper overall.

🇰🇷
Seoul
South Korea · 9.4M pop
vs
🇦🇹
Vienna
Austria · 2.0M pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€1,050€1,150
10% pricier
Groceries / mo
€340€330
3% cheaper
Eating out (meal)
€8€15
87% pricier
Internet (100mbps)
€20€35
75% pricier
Avg salary (tech)
€3,400€4,000
18% higher
Coworking / mo
€220€230
5% pricier
SeoulVienna
Rent€1,050€1,150
Groceries€340€330
Transport€45€51
Utilities€120€170

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 Vienna the way you live in Seoul on €3,000, you need

€3,397/ month net

13% more than today (+€397)

Seoul today
Basket €1,639 · left over €1,361 (45%)
Vienna at the matched salary
Basket €1,856 · left over €1,541 (45%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 216% over in Vienna (strong) 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

🇦🇹 Vienna

Huge subsidised housing stock keeps rents unusually sane for a rich capital.

Monthly budget: €1,856

Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports

Should you move to Seoul or Vienna?

On salary, Vienna pays more for tech roles (€4,000 versus €3,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,144 in Vienna at the top end.

Rent drives most of the gap: €1,050 in Seoul against €1,150 in Vienna. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.

For remote workers, the nomad index scores Seoul at 71 and Vienna at 75 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.

More Seoul comparisons

More Vienna comparisons