Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Miaoli and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Miaoli: $794 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Miaoli
Learn more

Miaoli Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Miaoli

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$794

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Miaoli and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Miaoli and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $794 in Miaoli versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Miaoli $794
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,109 in Miaoli versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Miaoli $1,109
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,425 in Miaoli versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Miaoli $1,425
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Miaoli costs roughly 72% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Miaoli is 41% below, Melbourne is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.46 NT$78.6

$17.75 A$25.40

-86.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.69 NT$756

$84.8 A$121

-72.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.69 NT$150

$12.16 A$17.40

-61.43%

Cappuccino

$3.01 NT$96.1

$3.93 A$5.62

-23.41%

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

$0.86 NT$27.33

$3.14 A$4.49

-72.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 NT$16.97

$2.43 A$3.47

-78.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 NT$39.22

$9.90 A$14.17

-87.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 NT$43.36

$8.29 A$11.86

-83.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.69 NT$86.0

$1.55 A$2.21

73.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 NT$39.79

$3.01 A$4.31

-58.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.72 NT$86.7

$2.88 A$4.12

-5.56%

Eggs

$2.21 NT$70.5

$5.44 A$7.79

-59.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.25 NT$295

$10.59 A$15.16

-12.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.54 NT$241

$9.61 A$13.76

-21.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.84 NT$697

$14.99 A$21.46

45.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 NT$119

$4.15 A$5.94

-9.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 NT$63.2

$3.05 A$4.37

-35.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NT$97.3

$3.30 A$4.72

-7.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 NT$98.5

$4.76 A$6.81

-35.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 NT$78.9

$3.04 A$4.34

-18.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 NT$65.2

$2.55 A$3.65

-20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NT$73.5

$2.48 A$3.55

-7.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 NT$27.78

$1.63 A$2.33

-46.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.06 NT$129

$44.07 A$63.1

-90.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 NT$351

$12.43 A$17.79

-11.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 NT$47.39

$5.33 A$7.63

-72.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 NT$66.5

$5.16 A$7.38

-59.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 NT$92.6

$4.40 A$6.29

-34.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$23.97

$1.40 A$2.01

-46.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.05 NT$225

$29.83 A$42.69

-76.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$32.92

$1.46 A$2.09

-29.45%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$28.1K A$40.3K

18.22%

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

$23.8K NT$758.4K

$25.9K A$37.1K

-8.40%

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

$69.0 NT$2,201

$233 A$333

-70.35%

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

$18.41 NT$587

$27.28 A$39.04

-32.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.34 NT$713

$57.0 A$81.6

-60.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

Cinema Ticket

$10.97 NT$350

$17.10 A$24.48

-35.85%

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

$517 NT$16.5K

$2,373 A$3,397

-78.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.7K NT$1.0M

$30.5K A$43.6K

4.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.55 NT$400

$78.2 A$112

-83.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.14 NT$802

$50.5 A$72.2

-50.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.8 NT$2,036

$121 A$172

-47.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 NT$3,172

$133 A$191

-25.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$217 NT$6,917

$1,713 A$2,451

-87.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$158 NT$5,030

$1,402 A$2,006

-88.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,500 NT$79.8K

$4,228 A$6,051

-40.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

5.9

-59.66%

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

Last update for Miaoli: October 6, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Miaoli

$313 39.9%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 23.1% $72

Accommodation & Living

Miaoli

$158 20.1%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 789% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Miaoli

$110 14%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 189% $207

Clothing & Footwear

Miaoli

$90 11.5%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 90.4% $82

Eating Out

Miaoli

$84 10.8%

Melbourne

$314 11% 272% $230

Sport & Entertainment

Miaoli

$22 * 2.8%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 296% $65

Getting Around

Miaoli

$6.7 * 0.9%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 2427% $162

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 $217 in Miaoli and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 69% 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: $24.00 in Miaoli vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $313 vs $385 per month, with Miaoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Miaoli

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

00:29 12:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

3 h ahead of Miaoli

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,892

5,031,195

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.8 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.76 TWD (100 TWD = 2.8 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Miaoli Melbourne 7,380 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Miaoli
Melbourne

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

Miaoli vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Miaoli and Melbourne differ by about 259% in total monthly costs ($794 vs $2,852 including rent). Miaoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $217 in Miaoli versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $794 per month in Miaoli versus $2,852 in Melbourne – a 259% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Miaoli versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Miaoli but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Miaoli 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, Miaoli and Melbourne 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 Miaoli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 259% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.