Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sharjah and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,105 a month against $1,726 in Sharjah, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,726

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sharjah 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 Sharjah and in Kaohsiung actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,726 in Sharjah versus $1,105 in Kaohsiung.

Sharjah $1,726
Kaohsiung $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,594 in Sharjah versus $1,796 in Kaohsiung.

Sharjah $2,594
Kaohsiung $1,796

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,462 in Sharjah versus $2,487 in Kaohsiung.

Sharjah $3,462
Kaohsiung $2,487

Living in Sharjah is roughly 56% more expensive than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sharjah is 27% above, Kaohsiung is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.88 AED 21.58

$4.74 NT$155

24.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.16 AED 118

$30.77 NT$1,003

4.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.13 AED 29.87

$4.60 NT$150

76.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 AED 35.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.29 AED 34.12

Cappuccino

$3.12 AED 11.46

$2.93 NT$95.4

6.48%

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

$0.75 AED 2.75

$1.05 NT$34.21

-28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 AED 1.15

$0.69 NT$22.61

-55.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 NT$49.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 NT$78.1

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 AED 5.84

$3.16 NT$103

-49.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 AED 4.40

$2.18 NT$71.1

-44.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.70

$2.87 NT$93.5

-36.59%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.20

$2.54 NT$82.9

30.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 AED 31.77

$15.21 NT$496

-43.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 AED 24.01

$8.03 NT$262

-18.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 AED 42.09

$14.77 NT$481

-22.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 AED 8.28

$6.40 NT$209

-64.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 AED 6.44

$2.79 NT$90.9

-37.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 AED 4.83

$2.42 NT$78.8

-45.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 AED 4.50

$3.02 NT$98.6

-59.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 AED 3.96

$2.68 NT$87.4

-59.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.06

$1.97 NT$64.4

-44.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 AED 5.20

$2.30 NT$74.9

-38.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 AED 2.18

$1.02 NT$33.12

-42.16%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.45 AED 56.8

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 AED 9.16

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 AED 9.88

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.57 AED 24.14

$4.24 NT$138

54.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.44 NT$503

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 NT$52.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NT$68.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.12 AED 7.79

$0.62 NT$20.35

241.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.55 AED 101

$12.04 NT$393

128.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 AED 13.26

$2.64 NT$86.0

36.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 AED 2.07

$0.78 NT$25.48

-28.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.03 AED 44.19

$5.68 NT$185

111.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 AED 3.58

$0.97 NT$31.78

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

$44.1K AED 162.1K

$37.1K NT$1.2M

18.83%

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

$21.0K AED 77.1K

$22.7K NT$739.4K

-7.42%

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

$212 AED 779

$82.1 NT$2,676

158.51%

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

$48.90 AED 180

$16.89 NT$551

189.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$98.0 AED 360

$25.27 NT$824

287.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.3 AED 199

$39.20 NT$1,278

38.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.44 AED 82.4

$10.12 NT$330

121.74%

Cinema Ticket

$13.82 AED 50.8

$10.11 NT$330

36.70%

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

$340 AED 1,250

$448 NT$14.6K

-24.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,356 AED 30.7K

$13.7K NT$445.8K

-38.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 AED 216

$90.0 NT$2,935

-34.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.4 AED 288

$31.24 NT$1,019

150.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 AED 396

$86.0 NT$2,805

25.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.8 AED 344

$99.3 NT$3,239

-5.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 AED 2,996

$430 NT$14.0K

89.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$784 AED 2,879

$301 NT$9,806

160.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,831 AED 6,723

$985 NT$32.1K

85.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,578 AED 5,795

$681 NT$22.2K

131.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,442 AED 27.3K

$4,146 NT$135.2K

79.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,551 AED 9,368

$2,875 NT$93.7K

-11.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,219 AED 8,149

$1,401 NT$45.7K

58.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

2.56

75.78%

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

Last update for Sharjah: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sharjah

$784 45.4%

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2% 61.6% $483

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sharjah

$359 20.8%

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3% 65.4% $235

Groceries & Markets

Sharjah

$193 11.2%

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1% 84.1% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Sharjah

$152 8.8%

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5% 9.5% $14

Eating Out

Sharjah

$113 6.6%

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6% 6.1% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Sharjah

$82 4.8%

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4% 27.4% $22

Getting Around

Sharjah

$42 2.5%

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9% 50.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $816 in Sharjah and $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sharjah pays 58% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Sharjah vs $31 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $355, with Sharjah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

11:20 11:20 AM

15:20 3:20 PM

4 h ahead of Sharjah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,400,000

2,777,873

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sharjah Kaohsiung 6,530 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sharjah
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

Sharjah vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,726 in Sharjah and $1,105 in Kaohsiung, so Kaohsiung is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% higher in Sharjah, 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: $816 in Sharjah versus $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $340 in Sharjah versus $448 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Sharjah pay roughly 46% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kaohsiung gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Sharjah and Kaohsiung are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Kaohsiung wins on affordability, Sharjah on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.