Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malaga and Kaohsiung

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.

99

Cost of Living Index in Malaga
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Malaga Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Malaga

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,030

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Malaga 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 Malaga and in Kaohsiung actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Malaga $2,030
Kaohsiung $1,131

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

Malaga $2,972
Kaohsiung $1,838

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

Malaga $3,915
Kaohsiung $2,544

Living in Malaga is roughly 80% more expensive than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.91 €15.04

$5.63 NT$183

200.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 €60.2

$31.36 NT$1,017

115.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.38 €11.01

$4.65 NT$151

166.24%

Cappuccino

$2.58 €2.30

$2.78 NT$90.1

-7.19%

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

$2.76 €2.46

$1.08 NT$34.99

155.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 €1.79

$0.66 NT$21.40

206.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 €2.99

$1.52 NT$49.14

121.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 €4.01

$2.49 NT$80.7

81.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 €1.10

$3.10 NT$100

-60.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$2.18 NT$70.7

-34.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.94 NT$95.3

-40.14%

Eggs

$3.43 €3.05

$2.68 NT$86.9

27.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.07 €13.41

$15.81 NT$513

-4.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 €7.14

$8.12 NT$263

-1.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.10 €13.43

$15.55 NT$504

-2.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$6.60 NT$214

-62.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$2.73 NT$88.5

-29.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.68 €1.49

$2.54 NT$82.2

-33.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 €2.18

$3.13 NT$102

-21.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 €1.38

$2.78 NT$90.2

-43.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.00 NT$64.9

6.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.43 NT$78.7

-48.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.64

$1.02 NT$33.12

-30.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.75 €6.00

$4.45 NT$144

51.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.87 €6.11

$15.54 NT$504

-55.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.57 NT$51.0

-28.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.07

$2.20 NT$71.5

5.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 €1.42

$0.71 NT$23.13

125.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.11 €24.11

$12.65 NT$410

114.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.70 NT$87.6

-31.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 €1.07

$0.75 NT$24.34

60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.47 €19.99

$5.48 NT$178

310.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.05 NT$33.97

73.33%

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

$35.2K €31.3K

$33.6K NT$1.1M

4.62%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$23.6K NT$765.3K

21.45%

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

$163 €145

$85.5 NT$2,773

91.13%

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

$10.77 €9.58

$17.29 NT$561

-37.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.58 €21.87

$26.39 NT$856

-6.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.11 €38.35

$40.61 NT$1,317

6.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.92 €15.94

$10.33 NT$335

73.48%

Cinema Ticket

$9.78 €8.70

$11.13 NT$361

-12.13%

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

$853 €759

$473 NT$15.3K

80.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K €8,970

$14.1K NT$456.9K

-28.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 €78.3

$92.9 NT$3,013

-5.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.54 €35.18

$31.16 NT$1,011

26.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.7 €75.3

$88.0 NT$2,855

-3.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 €95.5

$102 NT$3,310

5.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 €1,296

$437 NT$14.2K

233.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,068 €950

$301 NT$9,746

255.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,464 €2,191

$1,005 NT$32.6K

145.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 €1,496

$681 NT$22.1K

146.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,992 €4,440

$4,523 NT$146.7K

10.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,914 €2,592

$3,193 NT$103.5K

-8.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,852 €1,648

$1,471 NT$47.7K

25.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.29

2.56

28.52%

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

Last update for Malaga: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Malaga

$1.1K 52.6%

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6% 71.9% $767

Groceries & Markets

Malaga

$268 13.2%

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1% 35.6% $95

Eating Out

Malaga

$248 12.2%

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9% 55% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malaga

$199 9.8%

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4% 35% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Malaga

$144 7.1%

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5% 1.7% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Malaga

$63 3.1%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Malaga

$41 2%

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9% 46.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,457 in Malaga and $437 in Kaohsiung. 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: $68.0 in Malaga vs $31.00 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $268 vs $363, with Malaga cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Malaga

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

01:24 1:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

6 h ahead of Malaga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

586,384

2,777,873

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

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

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Malaga Kaohsiung 11,240 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Malaga
Kaohsiung

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

Malaga vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

Average pay runs 26% higher in Malaga, 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: $1,457 in Malaga versus $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $853 in Malaga versus $473 in Kaohsiung. 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, Malaga 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 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.