Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Salvador and Taoyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taoyuan: $1,200 a month against $1,658 in San Salvador, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in San Salvador
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San Salvador Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index

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San Salvador

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,658

/mo nomad

Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Salvador 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 San Salvador and in Taoyuan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,658 in San Salvador versus $1,200 in Taoyuan.

San Salvador $1,658
Taoyuan $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,492 in San Salvador versus $1,816 in Taoyuan.

San Salvador $2,492
Taoyuan $1,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,326 in San Salvador versus $2,433 in Taoyuan.

San Salvador $3,326
Taoyuan $2,433

Living in San Salvador is roughly 38% more expensive than in Taoyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Salvador is 23% above, Taoyuan is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.56 $6.56

$4.23 NT$137

55.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.50 $45.50

$24.93 NT$808

82.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 $7.04

$5.74 NT$186

22.65%

Cappuccino

$3.48 $3.48

$2.97 NT$96.2

17.17%

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

$1.17 $1.17

$1.02 NT$33.18

14.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 $0.84

$0.71 NT$22.97

18.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 $2.05

$1.84 NT$59.8

11.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 $3.61

$2.30 NT$74.6

56.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 $1.81

$2.84 NT$92.2

-36.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 $2.81

$1.22 NT$39.64

130.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$2.67 NT$86.5

-46.44%

Eggs

$2.99 $2.99

$2.17 NT$70.4

37.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.85 $7.85

$9.22 NT$299

-14.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 $6.92

$7.55 NT$245

-8.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 $10.09

$21.09 NT$684

-52.16%

Apples (1kg)

$5.19 $5.19

$3.83 NT$124

35.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 $1.43

$2.06 NT$66.8

-30.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 $2.63

$3.11 NT$101

-15.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 $3.51

$3.10 NT$101

13.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$2.47 NT$80.2

18.62%

Onion (1kg)

$3.38 $3.38

$2.03 NT$65.9

66.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 $1.03

$2.33 NT$75.6

-55.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 $0.97

$0.88 NT$28.53

10.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.09 $4.09

$5.02 NT$163

-18.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.79 $11.79

$10.89 NT$353

8.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 $2.29

$1.43 NT$46.45

60.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 $2.96

$2.16 NT$69.9

37.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 $0.36

$0.55 NT$17.81

-34.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.24 $38.24

$38.07 NT$1,234

0.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.02 $6.02

$2.74 NT$88.8

119.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.03 $3.03

$0.76 NT$24.51

298.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.03 $20.03

$6.99 NT$227

186.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 $1.27

$1.00 NT$32.37

27.00%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-23.70%

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

$26.8K $26.8K

$23.3K NT$755.7K

15.09%

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

$132 $132

$69.5 NT$2,252

89.68%

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

$21.13 $21.13

$17.72 NT$574

19.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.94 $41.94

$21.93 NT$711

91.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.98 $30.98

$33.59 NT$1,089

-7.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.42 $21.42

$7.07 NT$229

202.97%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 $4.96

$10.94 NT$355

-54.66%

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

$164 $164

$517 NT$16.8K

-68.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,762 $4,762

$31.3K NT$1.0M

-84.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.9 $67.9

$91.3 NT$2,959

-25.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.22 $46.22

$24.83 NT$805

86.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$81.9 NT$2,655

42.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 $116

$96.2 NT$3,119

20.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$895 $895

$646 NT$20.9K

38.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 $778

$436 NT$14.1K

78.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,799 $1,799

$964 NT$31.2K

86.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 $1,367

$729 NT$23.6K

87.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,748 $2,748

$7,498 NT$243.2K

-63.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,835 $1,835

$4,782 NT$155.1K

-61.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$379 $379

$1,549 NT$50.2K

-75.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

2.38

257.14%

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

Last update for San Salvador: 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

San Salvador

$778 46.9%

Taoyuan

$436 36.3% 43.9% $342

Groceries & Markets

San Salvador

$287 17.3%

Taoyuan

$313 26.1% 8.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Salvador

$195 11.8%

Taoyuan

$109 9.1% 44% $86

Clothing & Footwear

San Salvador

$156 9.4%

Taoyuan

$132 11% 15% $23

Eating Out

San Salvador

$141 8.5%

Taoyuan

$107 9% 23.7% $33

Getting Around

San Salvador

$61 3.7%

Taoyuan

$47 3.9% 23.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

San Salvador

$41 2.5%

Taoyuan

$55 4.6% 35.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $895 in San Salvador and $646 in Taoyuan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taoyuan pays 309% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in San Salvador vs $25.00 in Taoyuan. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $313, with San Salvador cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇻 San Salvador

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🕒 Local time

19:46 7:46 PM

09:46 9:46 AM

14 h ahead of San Salvador

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,090 Capital

2,147,763

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

TWD to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Salvador Taoyuan 14,590 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

San Salvador
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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

San Salvador vs Taoyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taoyuan wins on cost – living expenses run 38% lower than in San Salvador. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Taoyuan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 309% lower in Taoyuan. 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: $895 in San Salvador versus $646 in Taoyuan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in San Salvador pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Taoyuan – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $46.00 in San Salvador. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,200 in Taoyuan versus $1,658 in San Salvador, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taoyuan but tight or insufficient in San Salvador. 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, San Salvador 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 38% less than in San Salvador. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.