Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Malaga

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,131 a month against $2,030 in Malaga, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index
99

Cost of Living Index in Malaga
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Malaga Living Index

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Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Malaga

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,030

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kaohsiung and in Malaga

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kaohsiung and in Malaga actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $2,030 in Malaga.

Kaohsiung $1,131
Malaga $2,030

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,838 in Kaohsiung versus $2,972 in Malaga.

Kaohsiung $1,838
Malaga $2,972

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,544 in Kaohsiung versus $3,915 in Malaga.

Kaohsiung $2,544
Malaga $3,915

Living in Kaohsiung costs roughly 44% less than in Malaga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kaohsiung is 16% below, Malaga is 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 NT$183

$16.91 €15.04

-66.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.36 NT$1,017

$67.7 €60.2

-53.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.65 NT$151

$12.38 €11.01

-62.44%

Cappuccino

$2.78 NT$90.1

$2.58 €2.30

7.75%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 NT$34.99

$2.76 €2.46

-60.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 NT$21.40

$2.02 €1.79

-67.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 NT$49.14

$3.37 €2.99

-54.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 NT$80.7

$4.51 €4.01

-44.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.10 NT$100

$1.23 €1.10

152.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$70.7

$1.43 €1.27

52.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 NT$95.3

$1.76 €1.57

67.05%

Eggs

$2.68 NT$86.9

$3.43 €3.05

-21.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.81 NT$513

$15.07 €13.41

4.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.12 NT$263

$8.03 €7.14

1.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.55 NT$504

$15.10 €13.43

2.98%

Apples (1kg)

$6.60 NT$214

$2.50 €2.22

164.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 NT$88.5

$1.93 €1.72

41.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 NT$82.2

$1.68 €1.49

51.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 NT$102

$2.45 €2.18

27.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 NT$90.2

$1.56 €1.38

78.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 NT$64.9

$2.12 €1.88

-5.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 NT$78.7

$1.25 €1.11

94.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$33.12

$0.71 €0.64

43.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 NT$144

$6.75 €6.00

-34.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.54 NT$504

$6.87 €6.11

126.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 NT$51.0

$1.13 €1.01

38.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 NT$71.5

$2.32 €2.07

-5.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 NT$23.13

$1.60 €1.42

-55.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 NT$410

$27.11 €24.11

-53.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 NT$87.6

$1.85 €1.64

45.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.34

$1.20 €1.07

-37.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.48 NT$178

$22.47 €19.99

-75.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 NT$33.97

$1.82 €1.62

-42.31%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.6K NT$1.1M

$35.2K €31.3K

-4.42%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.6K NT$765.3K

$28.7K €25.5K

-17.66%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$85.5 NT$2,773

$163 €145

-47.68%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.29 NT$561

$10.77 €9.58

60.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.39 NT$856

$24.58 €21.87

7.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.61 NT$1,317

$43.11 €38.35

-5.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

$17.92 €15.94

-42.35%

Cinema Ticket

$11.13 NT$361

$9.78 €8.70

13.80%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$473 NT$15.3K

$853 €759

-44.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NT$456.9K

$10.1K €8,970

39.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.9 NT$3,013

$88.0 €78.3

5.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 NT$1,011

$39.54 €35.18

-21.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.0 NT$2,855

$84.7 €75.3

3.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,310

$107 €95.5

-4.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$1,457 €1,296

-70.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,746

$1,068 €950

-71.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,005 NT$32.6K

$2,464 €2,191

-59.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.1K

$1,681 €1,496

-59.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,523 NT$146.7K

$4,992 €4,440

-9.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,193 NT$103.5K

$2,914 €2,592

9.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,471 NT$47.7K

$1,852 €1,648

-20.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

3.29

-22.19%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Last update for Malaga: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1%

Malaga

$268 13.2% 26.2% $95

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6%

Malaga

$1.1K 52.6% 255% $767

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5%

Malaga

$144 7.1% 1.7% $2.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4%

Malaga

$199 9.8% 53.9% $70

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9%

Malaga

$248 12.2% 122% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6%

Malaga

$63 3.1% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9%

Malaga

$41 2% 88.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $437 in Kaohsiung and $1,457 in Malaga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malaga pays 26% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $31.00 in Kaohsiung vs $68.0 in Malaga. Groceries flip the comparison at $363 vs $268, with Malaga cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇪🇸 Malaga

🕒 Local time

07:24 7:24 AM

01:24 1:24 AM

6 h behind Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

586,384

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kaohsiung Malaga 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaohsiung
Malaga

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Kaohsiung vs Malaga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaohsiung and Malaga differ by about 80% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $2,030 including rent). Kaohsiung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Malaga. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $437 in Kaohsiung versus $1,457 in Malaga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $473 in Kaohsiung versus $853 in Malaga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Malaga pay roughly 36% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $2,030 in Malaga, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kaohsiung but tight or insufficient in Malaga. The gap between the two cities makes Kaohsiung the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Kaohsiung and Malaga are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kaohsiung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Malaga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.