Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Porto and Chiayi

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,067 a month against $1,905 in Porto, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Porto
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Porto Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
Learn more

Chiayi Living Index

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Porto

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,905

/mo nomad

Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Porto and in Chiayi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,905 in Porto versus $1,067 in Chiayi.

Porto $1,905
Chiayi $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,836 in Porto versus $1,503 in Chiayi.

Porto $2,836
Chiayi $1,503

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,766 in Porto versus $1,940 in Chiayi.

Porto $3,766
Chiayi $1,940

Living in Porto is roughly 79% more expensive than in Chiayi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Porto is 41% above, Chiayi is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.28 €11.81

$4.83 NT$157

174.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 €49.26

$46.84 NT$1,519

18.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.28 €10.03

$5.70 NT$185

97.89%

Cappuccino

$2.71 €2.41

$3.36 NT$109

-19.35%

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

$2.32 €2.06

$0.88 NT$28.58

163.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.67 NT$21.68

102.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.85 NT$92.4

20.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 €3.98

$3.80 NT$123

17.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$3.10 NT$101

-63.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 €1.50

$2.06 NT$66.8

-17.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 €1.28

$3.04 NT$98.6

-52.96%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$2.66 NT$86.3

54.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.82 €10.51

$19.77 NT$641

-40.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.96 €6.19

$9.75 NT$316

-28.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.26 €14.46

$20.98 NT$680

-22.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 €1.95

$4.87 NT$158

-55.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$3.22 NT$104

-50.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.99 NT$97.0

-39.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.50 €2.22

$4.55 NT$148

-45.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.80 NT$90.9

-36.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.35 NT$76.3

-23.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.68 NT$54.3

-1.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 €0.70

$1.14 NT$37.04

-31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.52 €5.80

$4.01 NT$130

62.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.01

$4.66 NT$151

21.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.65 NT$53.7

-18.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 €2.33

$2.18 NT$70.8

20.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 €1.43

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.43 €40.41

$12.43 NT$403

265.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.56

$2.64 NT$85.5

51.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 €0.72

$0.46 NT$14.94

73.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.50 €14.68

$9.66 NT$313

70.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.06 NT$34.43

102.83%

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

$33.0K €29.3K

$32.9K NT$1.1M

0.32%

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

$34.7K €30.8K

$24.5K NT$795.8K

41.32%

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

$161 €144

$66.7 NT$2,164

141.79%

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

$14.94 €13.29

$17.52 NT$568

-14.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.70 €32.64

$26.93 NT$873

36.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.16 €40.17

$31.82 NT$1,032

41.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.23 €13.55

Cinema Ticket

$9.20 €8.18

$9.84 NT$319

-6.50%

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

$566 €504

$660 NT$21.4K

-14.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.3K €9,161

$16.8K NT$543.4K

-38.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.5

$62.3 NT$2,020

63.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.14 €29.48

$39.44 NT$1,279

-15.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.2 €82.0

$85.2 NT$2,763

8.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €90.9

$104 NT$3,383

-2.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,279 €1,137

$369 NT$12.0K

246.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$949 €844

$253 NT$8,194

275.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,224 €1,978

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,626 €1,446

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,124 €4,558

$3,179 NT$103.1K

61.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,771 €3,354

$1,910 NT$61.9K

97.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,578 €1,404

$2,110 NT$68.4K

-25.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

2.4

52.92%

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

Last update for Porto: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiayi: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Porto

$949 49.8%

Chiayi

$253 23.7% 73.4% $697

Groceries & Markets

Porto

$258 13.5%

Chiayi

$379 35.5% 47% $121

Eating Out

Porto

$213 11.2%

Chiayi

$124 11.6% 41.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Porto

$213 11.2%

Chiayi

$111 10.4% 47.8% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Porto

$148 7.8%

Chiayi

$131 12.3% 11.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Porto

$64 3.3%

Chiayi

$51 4.8% 19% $12

Getting Around

Porto

$60 3.1%

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6% 71% $43

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 $1,279 in Porto and $369 in Chiayi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Porto vs $47.00 in Chiayi. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $379, with Porto cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Porto

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🕒 Local time

01:15 1:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

7 h ahead of Porto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,828

269,874

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Porto Chiayi 11,120 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Porto
Chiayi

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

Porto vs Chiayi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 79% lower than in Porto. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Chiayi. 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: $1,279 in Porto versus $369 in Chiayi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,905 per month in Porto versus $1,067 in Chiayi – a 79% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 265% less than in Porto. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,067 in Chiayi versus $1,905 in Porto, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiayi but tight or insufficient in Porto. The gap between the two cities makes Chiayi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chiayi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,067 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chiayi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Porto and Chiayi 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 Chiayi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 79% less than in Porto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.