City comparison
Cost of living in Tokyo vs Seoul
One person needs about €1,794 a month in Tokyo and €1,639 in Seoul, rent included — Seoul is 9% 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 Seoul the way you live in Tokyo on €3,000, you need
€2,741/ month net
9% less than today (-€259)
- Tokyo today
- Basket €1,794 · left over €1,206 (40%)
- Seoul at the matched salary
- Basket €1,639 · left over €1,102 (40%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 207% over in Seoul (strong) vs 195% in Tokyo. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇯🇵 Tokyo
Astonishing value for a mega-city: cheap food, cheap transport, tiny apartments.
Monthly budget: €1,794
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇰🇷 Seoul
Fast everything, plus jeonse deposits that catch foreigners off guard.
Monthly budget: €1,639
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Tokyo or Seoul?
On salary, Tokyo pays more for tech roles (€3,500 versus €3,400 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,761 in Seoul at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,150 in Tokyo against €1,050 in Seoul. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Tokyo at 72 and Seoul at 71 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.