Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Douliu

For one person, living is cheaper in Douliu: $1,138 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Douliu
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Douliu Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Douliu

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Douliu

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

A single person spends $2,821 per month in Melbourne vs $1,138 in Douliu, rent included.

Melbourne $2,821
Douliu $1,138

A couple spends around $4,235 per month in Melbourne vs $1,894 in Douliu, rent included.

Melbourne $4,235
Douliu $1,894

A family of three spends $5,650 per month in Melbourne vs $2,650 in Douliu, rent included.

Melbourne $5,650
Douliu $2,650

Melbourne costs about 148% more than Douliu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Douliu is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.85 NT$125

352.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$22.40 NT$726

277.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.81 NT$189

114.46%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.40 NT$110

20.88%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.94 NT$30.58

225.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.67 NT$21.86

276.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.79 NT$90.4

251.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.73 NT$121

129.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$3.09 NT$100

-52.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$2.01 NT$65.1

46.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.17 NT$103

-16.09%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.76 NT$89.4

100.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$19.44 NT$631

-45.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$9.97 NT$323

-3.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$21.44 NT$695

-29.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.79 NT$155

-16.70%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$3.29 NT$107

-8.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$3.08 NT$99.9

0.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.34 NT$141

11.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.82 NT$91.3

7.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.34 NT$75.9

4.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.71 NT$55.6

43.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.10 NT$35.65

48.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.85 NT$125

1044.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$14.46 NT$469

-12.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.63 NT$52.9

239.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.31 NT$75.0

126.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.61 NT$19.89

513.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$35.53 NT$1,152

287.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.66 NT$86.3

69.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.77 NT$24.82

76.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.46 NT$307

221.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.03 NT$33.56

42.72%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$34.0K NT$1.1M

-14.68%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$24.0K NT$777.6K

10.40%

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

$234 A$336

$86.6 NT$2,807

169.99%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.15 NT$556

62.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$27.79 NT$901

100.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$36.37 NT$1,179

35.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$9.54 NT$309

58.18%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$663 NT$21.5K

257.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$17.0K NT$550.7K

77.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$64.5 NT$2,091

24.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$40.75 NT$1,321

24.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$85.0 NT$2,756

41.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$105 NT$3,408

24.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$404 NT$13.1K

335.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$257 NT$8,334

440.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$982 NT$31.8K

255.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$730 NT$23.7K

241.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$7,836 NT$254.1K

-11.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$4,924 NT$159.7K

30.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$2,544 NT$82.5K

72.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.4

145.83%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Douliu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Douliu

$257 22.6% 81.5% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Douliu

$400 35.1% 4.1% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Douliu

$132 11.6% 58.6% $186

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Douliu

$117 10.3% 62.8% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Douliu

$133 11.7% 22.6% $39

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Douliu

$44 3.9% 72.8% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Douliu

$55 4.9% 30.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,759 in Melbourne versus $404 in Douliu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 72% higher in Melbourne, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne versus $22.00 in Douliu. Groceries tell a different story – $384 in Melbourne vs $400 in Douliu – so Melbourne wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 Douliu

🕒 Local time

12:27 12:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

108,401

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Douliu 7,300 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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

Melbourne vs Douliu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne costs about 148% more than Douliu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,231 per month in Melbourne and $1,707 in Douliu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Douliu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne and $22.00 in Douliu. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,821 in Melbourne and $1,138 in Douliu. That's a gap of about 148%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Douliu, where all-in costs run around $1,138, than in Melbourne at $2,821. In Douliu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Douliu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Douliu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Melbourne makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.