Cost of living in Busan
One person can expect roughly $1,607 a month in Busan, before flights and one-off setup costs.
one person, monthly
$1,607
family of four, monthly
$5,340
What that actually covers.
| Item | USD / month |
|---|---|
| Rent, one bedroom Modelled from a country baseline, not a quoted listing. | $900 |
| Food and groceries | $350 |
| Utilities | $110 |
| Mobile data | $35 |
| Local transport | $18 |
| Coworking 12/day × 4 days/mo regional estimate | $48 |
| Buffer Headroom for everything not itemised above. | $146 |
| Total | $1,607 |
Estimate. Rent is modelled from a country baseline, not a quoted listing.
What this figure leaves out
Flights, visa fees, health insurance, a rental deposit (often one to three months up front), agency fees, furniture, and the first-month overlap where you pay for a short stay and a lease at the same time. Budget for those separately; they are a one-off cash need, not a monthly cost.
where these numbers come from
- · Rent: national statistics offices and published rent indices where a source exists for the city, otherwise a country baseline.
- · Everyday costs: published operator and transit tariffs, plus regional baselines where no city figure exists.
- · Currency conversion: European Central Bank daily reference rates.
Last reviewed 2026-05-23. Full method, licences and the list of sources we rejected are on the methodology page.