Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kinmen and Kaohsiung

For one person, living costs are similar in Kinmen and in Kaohsiung: $1,088 and $1,131 a month, rent and utilities included.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kinmen
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Kinmen Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Kinmen

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,088

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kinmen and in Kaohsiung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,088 in Kinmen versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung.

Kinmen $1,088
Kaohsiung $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,849 in Kinmen versus $1,838 in Kaohsiung.

Kinmen $1,849
Kaohsiung $1,838

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,611 in Kinmen versus $2,544 in Kaohsiung.

Kinmen $2,611
Kaohsiung $2,544

Living in Kinmen costs roughly 4% less than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kinmen 19% lower, Kaohsiung 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.77 NT$155

$5.63 NT$183

-15.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.40 NT$1,018

$31.36 NT$1,017

0.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.75 NT$154

$4.65 NT$151

2.15%

Cappuccino

$2.90 NT$94.0

$2.78 NT$90.1

4.32%

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

$0.98 NT$31.62

$1.08 NT$34.99

-9.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 NT$21.01

$0.66 NT$21.40

-1.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 NT$50.1

$1.52 NT$49.14

1.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 NT$82.9

$2.49 NT$80.7

2.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.03 NT$98.2

$3.10 NT$100

-2.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.8

$2.18 NT$70.7

-14.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.96 NT$96.1

$2.94 NT$95.3

0.68%

Eggs

$2.71 NT$87.9

$2.68 NT$86.9

1.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.51 NT$633

$15.81 NT$513

23.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.82 NT$254

$8.12 NT$263

-3.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.99 NT$681

$15.55 NT$504

34.98%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 NT$139

$6.60 NT$214

-35.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 NT$81.0

$2.73 NT$88.5

-8.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 NT$96.7

$2.54 NT$82.2

17.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 NT$105

$3.13 NT$102

3.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 NT$92.1

$2.78 NT$90.2

2.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.15 NT$69.7

$2.00 NT$64.9

7.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.00 NT$64.8

$2.43 NT$78.7

-17.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 NT$34.85

$1.02 NT$33.12

4.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 NT$128

$4.45 NT$144

-11.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.64 NT$410

$15.54 NT$504

-18.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 NT$52.9

$1.57 NT$51.0

3.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$74.3

$2.20 NT$71.5

4.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.75

$0.71 NT$23.13

-14.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.67 NT$1,189

$12.65 NT$410

189.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 NT$88.8

$2.70 NT$87.6

1.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 NT$26.72

$0.75 NT$24.34

9.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.51 NT$308

$5.48 NT$178

73.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.92

$1.05 NT$33.97

-2.86%

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

$34.3K NT$1.1M

$33.6K NT$1.1M

1.96%

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

$24.7K NT$801.0K

$23.6K NT$765.3K

4.67%

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

$88.5 NT$2,869

$85.5 NT$2,773

3.47%

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

$17.67 NT$573

$17.29 NT$561

2.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.41 NT$727

$26.39 NT$856

-15.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.07 NT$1,202

$40.61 NT$1,317

-8.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

Cinema Ticket

$9.78 NT$317

$11.13 NT$361

-12.13%

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

$535 NT$17.3K

$473 NT$15.3K

13.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K NT$538.1K

$14.1K NT$456.9K

17.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.5 NT$2,092

$92.9 NT$3,013

-30.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.43 NT$1,019

$31.16 NT$1,011

0.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.0 NT$2,757

$88.0 NT$2,855

-3.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 NT$3,284

$102 NT$3,310

-0.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$409 NT$13.3K

$437 NT$14.2K

-6.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$255 NT$8,261

$301 NT$9,746

-15.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$973 NT$31.5K

$1,005 NT$32.6K

-3.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 NT$24.2K

$681 NT$22.1K

9.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,994 NT$259.2K

$4,523 NT$146.7K

76.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,078 NT$164.7K

$3,193 NT$103.5K

59.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,471 NT$47.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

2.56

-7.03%

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

Last update for Kinmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kinmen

$369 33.9%

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1% 1.6% $5.8

Accommodation & Living

Kinmen

$255 23.4%

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6% 18% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kinmen

$129 11.8%

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4% 0.5% $0.6

Clothing & Footwear

Kinmen

$127 11.7%

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5% 11.3% $14

Eating Out

Kinmen

$107 9.8%

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9% 5% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Kinmen

$57 5.2%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6% 11% $6.2

Getting Around

Kinmen

$46 4.2%

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9% 52.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $409 in Kinmen and $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $31.00 in Kinmen vs $31.00 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $369 vs $363, with Kaohsiung cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kinmen

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

12:16 12:16 PM

Same time as Kinmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,568

2,777,873

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Kinmen Kaohsiung 290 km

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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

Kinmen vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kinmen and Kaohsiung differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,088 vs $1,131 including rent). Kinmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,632 in Kinmen and $1,696 in Kaohsiung to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $409 in Kinmen versus $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $535 in Kinmen versus $473 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Kaohsiung pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,088 in Kinmen versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kinmen but tight or insufficient in Kaohsiung. The gap between the two cities makes Kinmen 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, Kinmen and Kaohsiung 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 Kinmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Kaohsiung. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.