Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tainan: $1,068 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
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Tainan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,068

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tainan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,068 in Tainan.

Melbourne $2,821
Tainan $1,068

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,837 in Tainan.

Melbourne $4,235
Tainan $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,606 in Tainan.

Melbourne $5,650
Tainan $2,606

Living in Melbourne is roughly 164% more expensive than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Tainan is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$3.74 NT$121

366.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$24.62 NT$799

243.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.79 NT$155

160.13%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.27 NT$106

25.69%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.95 NT$30.66

222.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.63 NT$20.54

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.86 NT$92.6

242.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.49 NT$113

145.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$3.09 NT$100

-52.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.77 NT$57.5

66.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.15 NT$102

-15.56%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.75 NT$89.3

101.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$19.50 NT$632

-46.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$9.88 NT$320

-2.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$21.04 NT$682

-27.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.96 NT$161

-19.56%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.86 NT$92.7

5.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$3.00 NT$97.4

3.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.48 NT$145

7.59%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.66 NT$86.4

13.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.27 NT$73.6

7.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.71 NT$55.3

43.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.15 NT$37.31

41.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.81 NT$124

1056.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$13.94 NT$452

-8.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.65 NT$53.4

235.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.17 NT$70.3

141.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.61 NT$19.68

513.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$33.89 NT$1,099

305.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.53 NT$82.2

78.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.77 NT$24.92

76.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$5.74 NT$186

430.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.01 NT$32.90

45.54%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-11.59%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$24.1K NT$780.6K

9.99%

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

$234 A$336

$87.2 NT$2,828

167.95%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.51 NT$568

59.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$21.30 NT$691

161.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$45.65 NT$1,480

8.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$9.60 NT$311

57.19%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$433 NT$14.1K

447.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$5,413 NT$175.5K

457.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$63.2 NT$2,050

26.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$39.20 NT$1,271

29.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$83.7 NT$2,716

44.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$103 NT$3,353

26.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$297 NT$9,624

492.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$200 NT$6,470

596.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$845 NT$27.4K

313.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$696 NT$22.6K

258.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,123 NT$133.7K

68.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$3,022 NT$98.0K

113.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,376 NT$44.6K

218.44%

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 Tainan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Tainan

$200 18.7% 85.6% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Tainan

$393 36.9% 2.4% $9.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Tainan

$126 11.8% 60.3% $191

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Tainan

$111 10.4% 64.7% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Tainan

$130 12.2% 24.1% $41

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Tainan

$43 4% 73.9% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Tainan

$65 6.1% 18.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $297 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 218% 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 $25.00 in Tainan. Groceries flip the comparison at $384 vs $393, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

12:27 12:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,886,033

💱 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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Between locations

Melbourne Tainan 7,240 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tainan differ by about 164% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,068 including rent). Tainan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 218% 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 $297 in Tainan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $433 in Tainan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,068 in Tainan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tainan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tainan 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 Tainan 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 Tainan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 164% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.