Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Chiayi

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,067 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $25,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $1,067 in Chiayi.

Sydney $3,152
Chiayi $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $1,503 in Chiayi.

Sydney $4,710
Chiayi $1,503

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $1,940 in Chiayi.

Sydney $6,268
Chiayi $1,940

Living in Sydney is roughly 195% more expensive than in Chiayi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, Chiayi is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.83 NT$157

263.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$46.84 NT$1,519

95.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.70 NT$185

109.82%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$3.36 NT$109

21.13%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.88 NT$28.58

223.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.67 NT$21.68

235.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$2.85 NT$92.4

166.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$3.80 NT$123

95.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$3.10 NT$101

-46.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$2.06 NT$66.8

34.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$3.04 NT$98.6

-20.39%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$2.66 NT$86.3

112.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$19.77 NT$641

-40.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$9.75 NT$316

-0.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$20.98 NT$680

-20.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$4.87 NT$158

-16.43%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$3.22 NT$104

0.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.99 NT$97.0

15.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$4.55 NT$148

-5.93%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$2.80 NT$90.9

17.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.35 NT$76.3

-2.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$1.68 NT$54.3

36.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$1.14 NT$37.04

6.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$4.01 NT$130

990.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$4.66 NT$151

197.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$1.65 NT$53.7

136.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$2.18 NT$70.8

79.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$12.43 NT$403

1108.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$2.64 NT$85.5

28.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.46 NT$14.94

239.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$9.66 NT$313

314.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.06 NT$34.43

32.08%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$32.9K NT$1.1M

-11.35%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$24.5K NT$795.8K

22.77%

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

$223 A$320

$66.7 NT$2,164

233.53%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$17.52 NT$568

55.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$26.93 NT$873

107.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$31.82 NT$1,032

134.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$9.84 NT$319

78.46%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$660 NT$21.4K

232.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$16.8K NT$543.4K

68.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$62.3 NT$2,020

25.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$39.44 NT$1,279

73.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$85.2 NT$2,763

30.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$104 NT$3,383

28.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$369 NT$12.0K

576.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$253 NT$8,194

576.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$3,179 NT$103.1K

314.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$1,910 NT$61.9K

338.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$2,110 NT$68.4K

94.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

2.4

143.33%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiayi: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

Chiayi

$253 23.7% 85.2% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

Chiayi

$379 35.5% 0.2% $0.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

Chiayi

$111 10.4% 63.6% $194

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

Chiayi

$124 11.6% 58.4% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

Chiayi

$131 12.3% 25.8% $46

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6% 90% $156

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Chiayi

$51 4.8% 53.1% $58

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 $2,500 in Sydney and $369 in Chiayi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 95% 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: $91.0 in Sydney vs $47.00 in Chiayi. Groceries flip the comparison at $379 vs $379, with Sydney cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🕒 Local time

18:10 6:10 PM

15:10 3:10 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

269,874

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

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).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Sydney Chiayi 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Sydney vs Chiayi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 195% lower than in Sydney. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 95% higher in Sydney, 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: $2,500 in Sydney versus $369 in Chiayi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,152 per month in Sydney versus $1,067 in Chiayi – a 195% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 1109% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,067 in Chiayi versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chiayi but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Chiayi 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, Sydney 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 195% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.