Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Pingtung city

For one person, living is cheaper in Pingtung city: $909 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $22,900 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Pingtung city
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Pingtung city Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Pingtung city

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$909

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Pingtung 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 Pingtung city actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $909 in Pingtung city.

Melbourne $2,821
Pingtung city $909

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,474 in Pingtung city.

Melbourne $4,235
Pingtung city $1,474

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,038 in Pingtung city.

Melbourne $5,650
Pingtung city $2,038

Living in Melbourne is roughly 210% more expensive than in Pingtung city, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Pingtung city is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$5.52 NT$179

215.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.64 NT$1,026

167.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.71 NT$153

164.54%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.87 NT$93.1

43.21%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.98 NT$31.82

212.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.68 NT$21.92

270.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.54 NT$49.83

536.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.52 NT$81.6

240.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$3.22 NT$104

-54.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.91 NT$62.0

53.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.60 NT$84.2

2.31%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.65 NT$86.0

109.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$15.60 NT$506

-32.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$8.06 NT$261

19.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$15.09 NT$489

0.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.33 NT$140

-7.85%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.87 NT$60.7

61.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.49 NT$80.8

24.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.19 NT$104

51.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.18 NT$38.37

156.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.93 NT$62.7

26.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$2.33 NT$75.6

5.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.85 NT$27.60

91.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.81 NT$123

1056.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$15.42 NT$500

-17.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.55 NT$50.2

257.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.24 NT$72.5

133.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.49 NT$15.89

663.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.70 NT$87.5

67.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.74 NT$24.04

83.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$6.40 NT$207

375.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.03 NT$33.32

42.72%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$34.1K NT$1.1M

-14.87%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$23.0K NT$746.1K

15.06%

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

$234 A$336

$111 NT$3,590

111.09%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$15.11 NT$490

84.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$25.70 NT$833

116.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$9.58 NT$311

57.52%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$344 NT$11.2K

589.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.0K NT$453.1K

116.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$70.8 NT$2,297

12.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$31.23 NT$1,013

62.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$82.4 NT$2,670

46.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$104 NT$3,359

25.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$247 NT$8,018

611.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$155 NT$5,023

797.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$746 NT$24.2K

368.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$375 NT$12.2K

564.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,912 NT$62.0K

129.22%

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 Pingtung city: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Pingtung city

$155 17% 88.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Pingtung city

$334 36.7% 13.1% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Pingtung city

$152 16.7% 52.3% $166

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Pingtung city

$112 12.3% 64.4% $202

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Pingtung city

$130 14.3% 24.6% $42

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Pingtung city

$8.4 * 0.9% 94.9% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Pingtung city

$19 * 2.1% 75.9% $60

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $247 in Pingtung city. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 129% 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 Pingtung city for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $334 per month, with Pingtung city cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 Pingtung city

🕒 Local time

10:58 10:58 AM

07:58 7:58 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

201,644

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Melbourne Pingtung city 7,190 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Pingtung city: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Pingtung city differ by about 210% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $909 including rent). Pingtung city is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 129% 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 $247 in Pingtung city. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $909 in Pingtung city – a 210% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $909 in Pingtung city versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Pingtung city but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Pingtung 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 Pingtung 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 Pingtung city gentler on the wallet – expenses run 210% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.