Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pingtung city and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Pingtung city: $909 a month against $1,131 in Kaohsiung, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Pingtung city
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Pingtung city Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Pingtung city

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$909

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pingtung city and in Kaohsiung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $909 in Pingtung city versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung.

Pingtung city $909
Kaohsiung $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,474 in Pingtung city versus $1,838 in Kaohsiung.

Pingtung city $1,474
Kaohsiung $1,838

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,038 in Pingtung city versus $2,544 in Kaohsiung.

Pingtung city $2,038
Kaohsiung $2,544

Living in Pingtung city costs roughly 20% less than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pingtung city 33% lower, Kaohsiung 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.52 NT$179

$5.63 NT$183

-1.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.64 NT$1,026

$31.36 NT$1,017

0.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.71 NT$153

$4.65 NT$151

1.29%

Cappuccino

$2.87 NT$93.1

$2.78 NT$90.1

3.24%

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

$0.98 NT$31.82

$1.08 NT$34.99

-9.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 NT$21.92

$0.66 NT$21.40

3.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 NT$49.83

$1.52 NT$49.14

1.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 NT$81.6

$2.49 NT$80.7

1.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.22 NT$104

$3.10 NT$100

3.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 NT$62.0

$2.18 NT$70.7

-12.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.60 NT$84.2

$2.94 NT$95.3

-11.56%

Eggs

$2.65 NT$86.0

$2.68 NT$86.9

-1.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.60 NT$506

$15.81 NT$513

-1.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.06 NT$261

$8.12 NT$263

-0.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.09 NT$489

$15.55 NT$504

-2.96%

Apples (1kg)

$4.33 NT$140

$6.60 NT$214

-34.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 NT$60.7

$2.73 NT$88.5

-31.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 NT$80.8

$2.54 NT$82.2

-1.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 NT$104

$3.13 NT$102

1.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 NT$38.37

$2.78 NT$90.2

-57.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 NT$62.7

$2.00 NT$64.9

-3.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 NT$75.6

$2.43 NT$78.7

-4.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 NT$27.60

$1.02 NT$33.12

-16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 NT$123

$4.45 NT$144

-14.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.42 NT$500

$15.54 NT$504

-0.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 NT$50.2

$1.57 NT$51.0

-1.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 NT$72.5

$2.20 NT$71.5

1.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 NT$15.89

$0.71 NT$23.13

-30.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.65 NT$410

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 NT$87.5

$2.70 NT$87.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 NT$24.04

$0.75 NT$24.34

-1.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.40 NT$207

$5.48 NT$178

16.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.32

$1.05 NT$33.97

-1.90%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$33.6K NT$1.1M

1.27%

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

$23.0K NT$746.1K

$23.6K NT$765.3K

-2.50%

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

$111 NT$3,590

$85.5 NT$2,773

29.47%

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

$15.11 NT$490

$17.29 NT$561

-12.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 NT$833

$26.39 NT$856

-2.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.61 NT$1,317

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.33 NT$335

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 NT$311

$11.13 NT$361

-13.93%

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

$344 NT$11.2K

$473 NT$15.3K

-27.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K NT$453.1K

$14.1K NT$456.9K

-0.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 NT$2,297

$92.9 NT$3,013

-23.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.23 NT$1,013

$31.16 NT$1,011

0.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 NT$2,670

$88.0 NT$2,855

-6.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NT$3,359

$102 NT$3,310

1.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$247 NT$8,018

$437 NT$14.2K

-43.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 NT$5,023

$301 NT$9,746

-48.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 NT$24.2K

$1,005 NT$32.6K

-25.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$375 NT$12.2K

$681 NT$22.1K

-44.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,523 NT$146.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,193 NT$103.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,912 NT$62.0K

$1,471 NT$47.7K

30.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

2.56

-11.33%

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

Last update for Pingtung city: October 13, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pingtung city

$334 36.7%

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1% 8.8% $29

Accommodation & Living

Pingtung city

$155 17%

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6% 94% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pingtung city

$152 16.7%

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4% 14.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Pingtung city

$130 14.3%

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5% 9.1% $12

Eating Out

Pingtung city

$112 12.3%

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9% 0.2% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Pingtung city

$19 * 2.1%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6% 228% $44

Getting Around

Pingtung city

$8.4 * 0.9%

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9% 163% $14

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 $247 in Pingtung city and $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pingtung city pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Pingtung city vs $31.00 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $334 vs $363, with Pingtung city cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Pingtung city

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

07:56 7:56 AM

Same time as Pingtung city

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

201,644

2,777,873

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Pingtung city Kaohsiung 19 km

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Pingtung city
Kaohsiung

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

Pingtung city vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pingtung city and Kaohsiung differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($909 vs $1,131 including rent). Pingtung city is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Pingtung city, 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: $247 in Pingtung city versus $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $344 in Pingtung city versus $473 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Pingtung city – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $31.00 in Kaohsiung. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $909 in Pingtung city versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Pingtung city but tight or insufficient in Kaohsiung. 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, Pingtung city and Kaohsiung 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 24% less than in Kaohsiung. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.