Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Keelung

For one person, living is cheaper in Keelung: $978 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $22,100 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Keelung
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Keelung Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Keelung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$978

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Keelung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $978 in Keelung.

Melbourne $2,821
Keelung $978

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,717 in Keelung.

Melbourne $4,235
Keelung $1,717

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,457 in Keelung.

Melbourne $5,650
Keelung $2,457

Living in Melbourne is roughly 188% more expensive than in Keelung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Keelung is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.65 NT$151

274.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.92 NT$1,035

164.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.85 NT$157

156.91%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.85 NT$92.4

44.21%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.03 NT$33.31

197.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.73 NT$23.60

245.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.54 NT$50.1

536.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.81 NT$91.1

204.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$3.24 NT$105

-54.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.39 NT$45.01

111.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$1.12 NT$36.44

137.50%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.22 NT$72.1

149.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$29.36 NT$952

-64.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.83 NT$189

65.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$17.08 NT$554

-10.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.35 NT$141

-8.28%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.89 NT$61.4

59.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$3.02 NT$98.0

2.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$2.16 NT$70.1

123.15%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.19 NT$38.69

154.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.90 NT$61.6

28.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$2.42 NT$78.5

1.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.91 NT$29.60

79.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.76 NT$122

1072.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.24 NT$300

37.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.09 NT$35.21

408.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.56 NT$83.0

104.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.64 NT$20.87

484.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$63.7 NT$2,064

116.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.61 NT$84.7

72.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.96 NT$31.16

41.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.61 NT$311

216.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.03 NT$33.31

42.72%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$33.3K NT$1.1M

-12.93%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$23.0K NT$744.6K

15.30%

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

$234 A$336

$41.52 NT$1,346

462.81%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$15.14 NT$491

84.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$11.07 NT$359

403.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$34.14 NT$1,107

44.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$32.11 NT$1,041

-33.10%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$7.92 NT$257

90.53%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$336 NT$10.9K

606.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$16.9K NT$546.4K

79.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$73.0 NT$2,368

9.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$36.15 NT$1,172

40.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$47.16 NT$1,529

155.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$31.66 NT$1,027

311.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$401 NT$13.0K

339.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$254 NT$8,247

446.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$978 NT$31.7K

257.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$731 NT$23.7K

241.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,385 NT$109.8K

104.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$2,352 NT$76.3K

174.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$2,436 NT$79.0K

79.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.27

159.91%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Keelung: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Keelung

$254 26% 81.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Keelung

$341 34.9% 11.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Keelung

$68 6.9% 78.7% $250

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Keelung

$106 10.9% 66.2% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Keelung

$85 8.7% 50.7% $87

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Keelung

$74 7.5% 55% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Keelung

$50 5.1% 37.2% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $401 in Keelung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 80% 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: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $32.00 in Keelung for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $341 per month, with Keelung cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 Keelung

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

02:04 2:04 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

372,100

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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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Between locations

Melbourne Keelung 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Keelung

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 Keelung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Keelung differ by about 188% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $978 including rent). Keelung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Melbourne, 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $401 in Keelung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Keelung – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $85.0 in Melbourne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $978 in Keelung versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Keelung but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Keelung 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, Melbourne and Keelung 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 Keelung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 188% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.