Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and New Taipei City

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,211 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
Learn more

New Taipei City Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,211

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in New Taipei City

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 New Taipei City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,211 in New Taipei City.

Melbourne $2,821
New Taipei City $1,211

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,026 in New Taipei City.

Melbourne $4,235
New Taipei City $2,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,841 in New Taipei City.

Melbourne $5,650
New Taipei City $2,841

Living in Melbourne is roughly 133% more expensive than in New Taipei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, New Taipei City is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.77 NT$155

265.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.06 NT$1,007

172.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.02 NT$163

148.21%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.27 NT$73.5

81.06%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.88 NT$28.40

247.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.56 NT$18.22

350.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.58 NT$51.3

520.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.57 NT$83.4

233.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$3.13 NT$102

-52.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.81 NT$58.6

62.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.17 NT$70.5

22.58%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.20 NT$71.3

151.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$24.39 NT$791

-56.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$10.58 NT$343

-8.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$19.26 NT$625

-20.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.99 NT$129

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.54 NT$82.4

18.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.68 NT$86.8

15.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.98 NT$129

21.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$4.06 NT$132

-25.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.06 NT$66.7

18.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.61 NT$52.4

52.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.08 NT$35.18

50.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.33 NT$140

917.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.14 NT$296

38.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.39 NT$45.09

298.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.42 NT$78.4

116.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.82 NT$26.53

356.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$36.86 NT$1,195

273.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.82 NT$91.4

59.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.92 NT$29.96

47.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$9.46 NT$307

221.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.00 NT$32.44

47.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$33.3K NT$1.1M

-12.79%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$24.5K NT$793.2K

8.24%

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

$234 A$336

$114 NT$3,682

105.83%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$16.72 NT$542

67.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$23.01 NT$746

142.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$38.40 NT$1,245

28.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$8.04 NT$261

167.16%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.49 NT$405

20.82%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$639 NT$20.7K

271.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$21.5K NT$696.7K

40.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$35.61 NT$1,155

124.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.90 NT$1,002

64.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$92.5 NT$3,000

30.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$100 NT$3,247

30.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$641 NT$20.8K

174.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$348 NT$11.3K

299.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,406 NT$45.6K

148.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$927 NT$30.0K

169.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$12.4K NT$402.0K

-44.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$7,282 NT$236.1K

-11.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,418 NT$46.0K

209.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.81

109.96%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for New Taipei City: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

New Taipei City

$348 28.8% 74.9% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

New Taipei City

$382 31.6% 0.4% $1.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

New Taipei City

$153 12.7% 51.7% $164

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

New Taipei City

$99 8.2% 68.5% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

New Taipei City

$117 9.6% 32.1% $55

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

New Taipei City

$48 3.9% 71% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

New Taipei City

$63 5.2% 20.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $641 in New Taipei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 209% 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 $31.00 in New Taipei City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $382 per month, with New Taipei City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🕒 Local time

10:39 10:39 AM

07:39 7:39 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

4,004,367

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Melbourne New Taipei City 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
New Taipei City

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 New Taipei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and New Taipei City differ by about 133% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,211 including rent). New Taipei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 209% 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 $641 in New Taipei City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $639 in New Taipei City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 0% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,211 in New Taipei City versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in New Taipei City but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes New Taipei City 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 New Taipei City 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 New Taipei City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 133% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.