Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Taoyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taoyuan: $1,200 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Taoyuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,200 in Taoyuan.

Melbourne $2,821
Taoyuan $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,816 in Taoyuan.

Melbourne $4,235
Taoyuan $1,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,433 in Taoyuan.

Melbourne $5,650
Taoyuan $2,433

Living in Melbourne is roughly 135% more expensive than in Taoyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Taoyuan is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$4.23 NT$137

312.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$24.93 NT$808

239.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.74 NT$186

117.07%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.97 NT$96.2

38.38%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.02 NT$33.18

200.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.71 NT$22.97

254.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$1.84 NT$59.8

432.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.30 NT$74.6

272.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$2.84 NT$92.2

-47.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.22 NT$39.64

140.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.67 NT$86.5

-0.37%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.17 NT$70.4

155.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$9.22 NT$299

13.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$7.55 NT$245

27.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$21.09 NT$684

-27.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.83 NT$124

4.18%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.06 NT$66.8

46.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$3.11 NT$101

-0.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.10 NT$101

55.48%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.47 NT$80.2

22.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.03 NT$65.9

20.20%

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

$0.88 NT$28.53

85.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$5.02 NT$163

777.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$10.89 NT$353

16.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.43 NT$46.45

287.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.16 NT$69.9

142.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$0.55 NT$17.81

580.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$38.07 NT$1,234

261.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$2.74 NT$88.8

64.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$0.76 NT$24.51

78.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$6.99 NT$227

335.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.00 NT$32.37

47.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-11.67%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$23.3K NT$755.7K

13.60%

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

$234 A$336

$69.5 NT$2,252

236.42%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$17.72 NT$574

57.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$21.93 NT$711

154.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$33.59 NT$1,089

47.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$7.07 NT$229

203.82%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$10.94 NT$355

37.93%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$517 NT$16.8K

358.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$31.3K NT$1.0M

-3.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$91.3 NT$2,959

-12.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$24.83 NT$805

104.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$81.9 NT$2,655

47.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$96.2 NT$3,119

35.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$646 NT$20.9K

172.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$436 NT$14.1K

218.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$964 NT$31.2K

262.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$729 NT$23.6K

241.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$7,498 NT$243.2K

-7.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$4,782 NT$155.1K

34.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,549 NT$50.2K

183.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.38

147.90%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Taoyuan: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Taoyuan

$436 36.3% 68.6% $954

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Taoyuan

$313 26.1% 18.5% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Taoyuan

$109 9.1% 65.6% $208

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Taoyuan

$107 9% 65.9% $207

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Taoyuan

$132 11% 22.9% $39

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Taoyuan

$47 3.9% 71.4% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Taoyuan

$55 4.6% 30.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $646 in Taoyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 183% 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 Taoyuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $313 per month, with Taoyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

09:23 9:23 AM

3 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,147,763

💱 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 Taoyuan 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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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 Taoyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Taoyuan differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,200 including rent). Taoyuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 183% 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 $646 in Taoyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $517 in Taoyuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,200 in Taoyuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taoyuan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taoyuan 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 Taoyuan 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 Taoyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.