Economic evaluation for water electrolysis compared to steam methane reforming has been carried out in terms of unit hydrogen production cost analysis, sensitivity analysis, and profitability analysis to assess current status of water electrolysis in Korea. For a hydrogen production capacity of 30 Nm(3) h(-1), the unit hydrogen production cost was 17.99, 16.54, and 20.18 $kg H-2(-1) for alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), PEM water electrolysis (PWE), and steam methane reforming (SMR), respectively with 11.24, 10.66, and 11.80 for 100 Nm(3) h(-1) and 8.12, 7.72, and 7.59 $kg H-2(-1) for 300 Nm(3) h(-1). With sensitivity analysis (SA), the most influential factors on the unit hydrogen production cost depending on the hydrogen production capacity were determined. Lastly, profitability analysis (PA) presented a discounted payback period (DPBP), net present value (NPV), and present value ratio (PVR) for a different discount rate ranging from 2 to 14% and it was found that a discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR) was 14.01% from a cash flow diagram obtained for a hydrogen production capacity of 30 Nm(3) h(-1). (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.