Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and New Taipei City

For one person, living is cheaper in New Taipei City: $1,211 a month against $3,152 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $23,300 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
59

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,152

/mo nomad

New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,211

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in New Taipei City

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 New Taipei City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,152 in Sydney versus $1,211 in New Taipei City.

Sydney $3,152
New Taipei City $1,211

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,710 in Sydney versus $2,026 in New Taipei City.

Sydney $4,710
New Taipei City $2,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,268 in Sydney versus $2,841 in New Taipei City.

Sydney $6,268
New Taipei City $2,841

Living in Sydney is roughly 160% more expensive than in New Taipei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sydney is 133% above, New Taipei City is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.57 A$25.29

$4.77 NT$155

268.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 A$132

$31.06 NT$1,007

194.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$17.21

$5.02 NT$163

138.25%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.85

$2.27 NT$73.5

79.30%

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

$2.85 A$4.10

$0.88 NT$28.40

223.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 A$3.24

$0.56 NT$18.22

301.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.60 A$10.94

$1.58 NT$51.3

381.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.43 A$10.69

$2.57 NT$83.4

189.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$3.13 NT$102

-46.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.78 A$4.00

$1.81 NT$58.6

53.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 A$3.49

$2.17 NT$70.5

11.52%

Eggs

$5.64 A$8.12

$2.20 NT$71.3

156.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 A$16.85

$24.39 NT$791

-51.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 A$13.89

$10.58 NT$343

-8.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 A$24.10

$19.26 NT$625

-13.03%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.85

$3.99 NT$129

2.01%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.68

$2.54 NT$82.4

27.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 A$4.96

$2.68 NT$86.8

28.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 A$6.16

$3.98 NT$129

7.54%

Potato (1kg)

$3.28 A$4.72

$4.06 NT$132

-19.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$2.06 NT$66.7

11.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 A$3.31

$1.61 NT$52.4

42.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 A$1.74

$1.08 NT$35.18

12.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$43.71 A$62.9

$4.33 NT$140

909.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.88 A$19.97

$9.14 NT$296

51.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 A$5.62

$1.39 NT$45.09

180.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 A$5.63

$2.42 NT$78.4

61.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 A$4.38

$0.82 NT$26.53

270.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$216

$36.86 NT$1,195

307.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.86

$2.82 NT$91.4

19.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.24

$0.92 NT$29.96

69.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.01 A$57.6

$9.46 NT$307

322.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.00 NT$32.44

40.00%

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

$29.1K A$41.9K

$33.3K NT$1.1M

-12.42%

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

$30.1K A$43.4K

$24.5K NT$793.2K

23.18%

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

$223 A$320

$114 NT$3,682

96.07%

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

$27.16 A$39.08

$16.72 NT$542

62.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$23.01 NT$746

142.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.6 A$107

$38.40 NT$1,245

94.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.99 A$34.52

$8.04 NT$261

198.38%

Cinema Ticket

$17.56 A$25.27

$12.49 NT$405

40.59%

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

$2,196 A$3,160

$639 NT$20.7K

243.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K A$40.6K

$21.5K NT$696.7K

31.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$35.61 NT$1,155

120.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.4 A$98.5

$30.90 NT$1,002

121.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$92.5 NT$3,000

20.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 A$193

$100 NT$3,247

34.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,500 A$3,598

$641 NT$20.8K

289.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,709 A$2,460

$348 NT$11.3K

390.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,946 A$7,117

$1,406 NT$45.6K

251.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,022 A$4,349

$927 NT$30.0K

226.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$12.4K NT$402.0K

6.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,370 A$12.0K

$7,282 NT$236.1K

14.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,113 A$5,919

$1,418 NT$46.0K

190.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

2.81

107.83%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 11, 2026

Last update for New Taipei City: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.2%

New Taipei City

$348 28.8% 79.6% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$379 12%

New Taipei City

$382 31.6% 1% $3.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$306 9.7%

New Taipei City

$153 12.7% 49.8% $152

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.5%

New Taipei City

$99 8.2% 66.8% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$177 5.6%

New Taipei City

$117 9.6% 34% $60

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

New Taipei City

$48 3.9% 72.6% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

New Taipei City

$63 5.2% 42.2% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,500 in Sydney and $641 in New Taipei City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney pays 190% 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 $31.00 in New Taipei City. Groceries flip the comparison at $379 vs $382, with Sydney cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🕒 Local time

11:19 11:19 AM

08:19 8:19 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

4,004,367

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney New Taipei City 7,260 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 New Taipei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sydney and New Taipei City differ by about 160% in total monthly costs ($3,152 vs $1,211 including rent). New Taipei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 190% 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 $641 in New Taipei City. 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 $1,211 in New Taipei City – a 160% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in New Taipei City runs roughly 308% less than in Sydney. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,211 in New Taipei City versus $3,152 in Sydney, a $2,000 budget is realistic in New Taipei City but tight or insufficient in Sydney. The gap between the two cities makes New Taipei City 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 New Taipei City 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 New Taipei City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 160% less than in Sydney. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.