Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Taipei City and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,211 a month against $1,794 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,211

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,211 in New Taipei City versus $1,794 in Seoul.

New Taipei City $1,211
Seoul $1,794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,026 in New Taipei City versus $2,863 in Seoul.

New Taipei City $2,026
Seoul $2,863

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,841 in New Taipei City versus $3,931 in Seoul.

New Taipei City $2,841
Seoul $3,931

Living in New Taipei City costs roughly 33% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: New Taipei City is 10% below, Seoul is 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.77 NT$155

$8.80 ₩11.7K

-45.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.06 NT$1,007

$68.4 ₩90.9K

-54.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 NT$163

$7.54 ₩10.0K

-33.42%

Cappuccino

$2.27 NT$73.5

$4.23 ₩5,624

-46.34%

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

$0.88 NT$28.40

$1.63 ₩2,167

-46.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 NT$18.22

$0.74 ₩985

-24.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 NT$51.3

$3.64 ₩4,843

-56.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 NT$83.4

$6.15 ₩8,175

-58.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.13 NT$102

$2.01 ₩2,679

55.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 NT$58.6

$3.13 ₩4,164

-42.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 NT$70.5

$4.32 ₩5,744

-49.77%

Eggs

$2.20 NT$71.3

$3.61 ₩4,794

-39.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.39 NT$791

$17.83 ₩23.7K

36.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.58 NT$343

$10.45 ₩13.9K

1.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.26 NT$625

$25.80 ₩34.3K

-25.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 NT$129

$7.66 ₩10.2K

-47.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 NT$82.4

$3.38 ₩4,499

-24.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$5.81 ₩7,723

-53.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.98 NT$129

$6.41 ₩8,520

-37.91%

Potato (1kg)

$4.06 NT$132

$3.75 ₩4,983

8.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.06 NT$66.7

$2.54 ₩3,375

-18.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 NT$52.4

$2.84 ₩3,782

-43.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 NT$35.18

$1.11 ₩1,472

-2.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 NT$140

$3.35 ₩4,455

29.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.14 NT$296

$18.49 ₩24.6K

-50.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 NT$45.09

$2.40 ₩3,185

-42.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 NT$78.4

$3.37 ₩4,480

-28.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 NT$26.53

$1.14 ₩1,521

-28.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.86 NT$1,195

$46.11 ₩61.3K

-20.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 NT$91.4

$3.49 ₩4,643

-19.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 NT$29.96

$0.63 ₩840

46.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.46 NT$307

$8.86 ₩11.8K

6.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.44

$1.51 ₩2,005

-33.77%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$29.3K ₩38.9M

13.60%

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

$24.5K NT$793.2K

$28.2K ₩37.5M

-13.29%

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

$114 NT$3,682

$218 ₩289.2K

-47.81%

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

$16.72 NT$542

$35.15 ₩46.7K

-52.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 NT$746

$21.29 ₩28.3K

8.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.40 NT$1,245

$58.1 ₩77.2K

-33.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.04 NT$261

$16.10 ₩21.4K

-50.06%

Cinema Ticket

$12.49 NT$405

$11.31 ₩15.0K

10.43%

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

$639 NT$20.7K

$1,948 ₩2.6M

-67.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.5K NT$696.7K

$22.9K ₩30.4M

-6.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.61 NT$1,155

$57.0 ₩75.8K

-37.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.90 NT$1,002

$33.39 ₩44.4K

-7.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.5 NT$3,000

$71.5 ₩95.0K

29.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 NT$3,247

$82.5 ₩109.7K

21.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 NT$20.8K

$901 ₩1.2M

-28.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 NT$11.3K

$612 ₩813.5K

-43.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 NT$45.6K

$2,526 ₩3.4M

-44.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$927 NT$30.0K

$1,266 ₩1.7M

-26.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.4K NT$402.0K

$29.4K ₩39.1M

-57.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,282 NT$236.1K

$11.9K ₩15.8M

-38.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,418 NT$46.0K

$3,650 ₩4.9M

-61.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.81

4.08

-31.13%

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

Last update for New Taipei City: October 13, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

New Taipei City

$382 31.6%

Seoul

$477 26.6% 24.7% $94

Accommodation & Living

New Taipei City

$348 28.8%

Seoul

$612 34.1% 75.7% $264

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Taipei City

$153 12.7%

Seoul

$274 15.3% 78.7% $121

Clothing & Footwear

New Taipei City

$117 9.6%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 5.7% $6.6

Eating Out

New Taipei City

$99 8.2%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 85.3% $85

Sport & Entertainment

New Taipei City

$63 5.2%

Seoul

$81 4.5% 27.3% $17

Getting Around

New Taipei City

$48 3.9%

Seoul

$57 3.2% 20.5% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $641 in New Taipei City and $901 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 157% 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: $31.00 in New Taipei City vs $68.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $382 vs $477 per month, with New Taipei City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

06:54 6:54 AM

07:54 7:54 AM

1 h ahead of New Taipei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,004,367

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

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).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New Taipei City Seoul 1,500 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

New Taipei City
Seoul

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

New Taipei City vs Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New Taipei City and Seoul differ by about 48% in total monthly costs ($1,211 vs $1,794 including rent). New Taipei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 157% lower in Seoul. 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: $641 in New Taipei City versus $901 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,211 per month in New Taipei City versus $1,794 in Seoul – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in New Taipei City runs roughly 25% less than in Seoul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,211 in New Taipei City versus $1,794 in Seoul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in New Taipei City but tight or insufficient in Seoul. 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, New Taipei City and Seoul 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 48% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.