Cost of Living Guide

City comparison

Cost of living in Vienna vs Seoul

One person needs about €1,856 a month in Vienna and €1,639 in Seoul, rent included — Seoul is 12% cheaper overall.

🇦🇹
Vienna
Austria · 2.0M pop
vs
🇰🇷
Seoul
South Korea · 9.4M pop
Monthly rent (1BR)
€1,150€1,050
9% cheaper
Groceries / mo
€330€340
3% pricier
Eating out (meal)
€15€8
47% cheaper
Internet (100mbps)
€35€20
43% cheaper
Avg salary (tech)
€4,000€3,400
15% lower
Coworking / mo
€230€220
4% cheaper
ViennaSeoul
Rent€1,150€1,050
Groceries€330€340
Transport€51€45
Utilities€170€120

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 Vienna on €3,000, you need

€2,649/ month net

12% less than today (-€351)

Vienna today
Basket €1,856 · left over €1,144 (38%)
Seoul at the matched salary
Basket €1,639 · left over €1,010 (38%)

Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 207% over in Seoul (strong) vs 216% in Vienna. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this

🇦🇹 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

🇰🇷 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 Vienna or Seoul?

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

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

More Vienna comparisons

More Seoul comparisons