Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Miaoli

For one person, living is cheaper in Miaoli: $794 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $28,700 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Miaoli
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Miaoli Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Miaoli

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Miaoli

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 Miaoli actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,182 in Sydney versus $794 in Miaoli.

Sydney $3,182
Miaoli $794

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,696 in Sydney versus $1,109 in Miaoli.

Sydney $4,696
Miaoli $1,109

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,210 in Sydney versus $1,425 in Miaoli.

Sydney $6,210
Miaoli $1,425

Living in Sydney is roughly 301% more expensive than in Miaoli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 137% above, Miaoli is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$2.46 NT$78.6

617.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$23.69 NT$756

309.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$4.69 NT$150

154.58%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$3.01 NT$96.1

32.89%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$0.86 NT$27.33

230.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.53 NT$16.97

328.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$1.23 NT$39.22

541.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$1.36 NT$43.36

424.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$2.69 NT$86.0

-38.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.25 NT$39.79

123.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$2.72 NT$86.7

-14.71%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$2.21 NT$70.5

150.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$9.25 NT$295

30.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$7.54 NT$241

30.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$21.84 NT$697

-23.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$3.74 NT$119

7.49%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.98 NT$63.2

59.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$3.05 NT$97.3

14.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$3.09 NT$98.5

44.66%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$2.47 NT$78.9

34.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.04 NT$65.2

12.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$2.30 NT$73.5

1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.87 NT$27.78

32.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$4.06 NT$129

1008.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$10.99 NT$351

27.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.49 NT$47.39

167.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$2.08 NT$66.5

95.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$2.90 NT$92.6

18.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.75 NT$23.97

117.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$7.05 NT$225

467.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.03 NT$32.92

35.92%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$33.3K NT$1.1M

-14.59%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$23.8K NT$758.4K

23.72%

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

$220 A$315

$69.0 NT$2,201

218.82%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$18.41 NT$587

50.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$22.34 NT$713

148.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$10.97 NT$350

61.62%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$517 NT$16.5K

316.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$31.7K NT$1.0M

-10.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$12.55 NT$400

524.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$25.14 NT$802

180.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$63.8 NT$2,036

74.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$99.4 NT$3,172

32.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$217 NT$6,917

1059.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$158 NT$5,030

998.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$2,500 NT$79.8K

63.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

2.38

145.38%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Miaoli: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Miaoli

$158 20.1% 90.9% $1.6K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Miaoli

$313 39.9% 17.7% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Miaoli

$110 14% 63.8% $193

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Miaoli

$84 10.8% 71.8% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Miaoli

$90 11.5% 48.8% $86

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Miaoli

$6.7 * 0.9% 96.2% $168

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Miaoli

$22 * 2.8% 80% $88

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 $2,514 in Sydney and $217 in Miaoli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 63% 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: $97.0 in Sydney vs $24.00 in Miaoli for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $380 vs $313 per month, with Miaoli cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇹🇼 Miaoli

🕒 Local time

07:00 7:00 AM

04:00 4:00 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

89,892

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.8 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.76 TWD (100 TWD = 2.8 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Miaoli 7,250 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
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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 Miaoli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and Miaoli differ by about 301% in total monthly costs ($3,182 vs $794 including rent). Miaoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 63% 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: $2,514 in Sydney versus $217 in Miaoli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Sydney. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $3,182 per month in Sydney versus $794 in Miaoli – a 301% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Miaoli versus $3,182 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Miaoli but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes Miaoli 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 Miaoli 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 Miaoli gentler on the wallet – expenses run 301% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.