Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Tirana

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,131 a month against $1,363 in Tirana, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Tirana
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Tirana Living Index

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Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Tirana

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,363

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kaohsiung and in Tirana

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 Tirana actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $1,363 in Tirana.

Kaohsiung $1,131
Tirana $1,363

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,838 in Kaohsiung versus $2,151 in Tirana.

Kaohsiung $1,838
Tirana $2,151

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,544 in Kaohsiung versus $2,939 in Tirana.

Kaohsiung $2,544
Tirana $2,939

Living in Kaohsiung costs roughly 17% less than in Tirana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kaohsiung is 16% below, Tirana is 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 NT$183

$9.79 ALL 789

-42.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.36 NT$1,017

$55.1 ALL 4,437

-43.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.65 NT$151

$10.92 ALL 880

-57.42%

Cappuccino

$2.78 NT$90.1

$2.28 ALL 183

21.93%

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

$1.08 NT$34.99

$2.34 ALL 188

-53.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 NT$21.40

$1.30 ALL 104

-49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 NT$49.14

$3.61 ALL 290

-57.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 NT$80.7

$4.07 ALL 328

-38.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.10 NT$100

$2.24 ALL 181

38.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$70.7

$1.14 ALL 91.9

91.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 NT$95.3

$2.32 ALL 187

26.72%

Eggs

$2.68 NT$86.9

$3.71 ALL 299

-27.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.81 NT$513

$12.69 ALL 1,022

24.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.12 NT$263

$9.01 ALL 725

-9.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.55 NT$504

$16.82 ALL 1,354

-7.55%

Apples (1kg)

$6.60 NT$214

$1.95 ALL 157

238.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 NT$88.5

$2.38 ALL 192

14.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 NT$82.2

$2.22 ALL 179

14.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 NT$102

$1.89 ALL 153

65.61%

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 NT$90.2

$1.00 ALL 80.9

178.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.00 NT$64.9

$1.29 ALL 104

55.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 NT$78.7

$1.42 ALL 114

71.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$33.12

$0.73 ALL 58.4

39.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 NT$144

$4.90 ALL 394

-9.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.54 NT$504

$10.49 ALL 845

48.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 NT$51.0

$1.63 ALL 131

-3.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 NT$71.5

$2.10 ALL 169

4.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 NT$23.13

$0.47 ALL 37.63

51.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 NT$410

$19.16 ALL 1,543

-33.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 NT$87.6

$3.59 ALL 289

-24.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.34

$3.65 ALL 294

-79.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.48 NT$178

$18.53 ALL 1,492

-70.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 NT$33.97

$2.37 ALL 191

-55.70%

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

$33.6K NT$1.1M

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

1.23%

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

$23.6K NT$765.3K

$34.8K ALL 2.8M

-32.13%

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

$85.5 NT$2,773

$98.8 ALL 7,956

-13.45%

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

$17.29 NT$561

$18.04 ALL 1,453

-4.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.39 NT$856

$19.62 ALL 1,580

34.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.61 NT$1,317

$56.3 ALL 4,532

-27.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

$19.96 ALL 1,607

-48.25%

Cinema Ticket

$11.13 NT$361

$9.58 ALL 772

16.18%

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

$473 NT$15.3K

$341 ALL 27.5K

38.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NT$456.9K

$8,182 ALL 658.9K

72.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.9 NT$3,013

$72.6 ALL 5,846

27.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.16 NT$1,011

$46.87 ALL 3,775

-33.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.0 NT$2,855

$118 ALL 9,492

-25.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,310

$109 ALL 8,807

-6.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$799 ALL 64.3K

-45.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,746

$486 ALL 39.2K

-38.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,005 NT$32.6K

$1,528 ALL 123.1K

-34.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.1K

$879 ALL 70.8K

-22.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,523 NT$146.7K

$4,404 ALL 354.7K

2.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,193 NT$103.5K

$2,153 ALL 173.4K

48.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,471 NT$47.7K

$866 ALL 69.7K

69.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

5.39

-52.50%

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

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Last update for Tirana: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1%

Tirana

$287 21.1% 20.8% $76

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6%

Tirana

$486 35.7% 61.8% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5%

Tirana

$156 11.4% 10.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4%

Tirana

$136 10% 5.6% $7.3

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9%

Tirana

$179 13.1% 60.1% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6%

Tirana

$75 5.5% 20% $13

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9%

Tirana

$43 3.1% 95.2% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $437 in Kaohsiung and $799 in Tirana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31.00 in Kaohsiung vs $55.0 in Tirana. Groceries flip the comparison at $363 vs $287, with Tirana cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇦🇱 Tirana

🕒 Local time

05:52 5:52 AM

23:52 11:52 PM

6 h behind Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

418,495 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kaohsiung Tirana 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaohsiung
Tirana

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 Tirana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaohsiung and Tirana differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($1,131 vs $1,363 including rent). Kaohsiung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 70% higher in Kaohsiung, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $437 in Kaohsiung versus $799 in Tirana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $473 in Kaohsiung versus $341 in Tirana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Tirana pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $1,363 in Tirana, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kaohsiung but tight or insufficient in Tirana. 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 Tirana 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 21% less than in Tirana. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.