Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Taichung

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,143 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $24,500 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Taichung

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

A single person spends $3,182 per month in Sydney vs $1,143 in Taichung, rent included.

Sydney $3,182
Taichung $1,143

A couple spends around $4,696 per month in Sydney vs $1,887 in Taichung, rent included.

Sydney $4,696
Taichung $1,887

A family of three spends $6,210 per month in Sydney vs $2,631 in Taichung, rent included.

Sydney $6,210
Taichung $2,631

Sydney costs about 178% more than Taichung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 137% above the global median, while Taichung is 15% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.28

$4.68 NT$149

277.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$32.12 NT$1,025

202.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.09

$4.85 NT$155

146.19%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.72

$2.75 NT$87.6

45.45%

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

$2.84 A$4.06

$1.03 NT$32.80

175.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.25

$0.74 NT$23.56

206.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.29

$1.56 NT$49.69

405.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.20

$2.78 NT$88.7

156.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.38

$3.27 NT$104

-49.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.00

$1.76 NT$56.2

58.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$2.66 NT$84.7

-12.78%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.92

$2.62 NT$83.7

111.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.28

$29.33 NT$936

-58.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.09

$8.13 NT$259

21.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.78

$17.14 NT$547

-3.09%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.76

$4.22 NT$135

-4.74%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.51

$1.92 NT$61.3

64.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.01

$2.99 NT$95.3

17.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.39

$2.15 NT$68.6

107.91%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.76

$1.20 NT$38.28

176.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.97 NT$62.9

16.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.35

$2.40 NT$76.7

-2.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.65

$0.90 NT$28.80

27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.4

$3.75 NT$120

1100.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$19.97

$15.53 NT$495

-10.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.70

$1.64 NT$52.3

142.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.82

$2.47 NT$78.8

64.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.52

$0.72 NT$23.05

338.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$31.97 NT$1,020

369.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.94

$2.70 NT$86.1

27.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.92 NT$29.49

77.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.2

$9.61 NT$307

316.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.03 NT$32.76

35.92%

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

$28.4K A$40.7K

$33.0K NT$1.1M

-13.96%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$22.7K NT$725.9K

29.26%

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

$220 A$315

$127 NT$4,037

73.81%

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

$27.70 A$39.64

$14.84 NT$474

86.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.5

$21.00 NT$670

164.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$106

$32.96 NT$1,052

125.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.28

$11.63 NT$371

105.93%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.37

$10.02 NT$320

76.95%

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

$2,157 A$3,087

$347 NT$11.1K

521.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.5K

$16.8K NT$537.2K

68.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$112

$72.5 NT$2,314

8.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$35.93 NT$1,147

96.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$159

$85.8 NT$2,738

29.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$117 NT$3,727

12.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,598

$396 NT$12.6K

535.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,478

$273 NT$8,722

533.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$6,996

$1,217 NT$38.8K

301.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,349

$774 NT$24.7K

292.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$18.9K

$8,642 NT$275.8K

52.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.6K

$5,368 NT$171.3K

51.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,842

$1,432 NT$45.7K

185.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

2.27

157.27%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 5, 2026

Last update for Taichung: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Taichung

$273 23.7% 84.2% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Taichung

$379 32.8% 0.4% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Taichung

$162 14.1% 46.4% $141

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Taichung

$105 9.1% 64.8% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Taichung

$140 12.1% 20.7% $36

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Taichung

$42 3.7% 75.8% $132

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Taichung

$53 4.6% 51.7% $57

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,514 in Sydney versus $396 in Taichung. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 185% higher in Sydney, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Sydney versus $32.00 in Taichung. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $380 vs $379 – making Taichung the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇹🇼 Taichung

🕒 Local time

19:23 7:23 PM

16:23 4:23 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,767,239

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.79 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 = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.79 TWD (100 TWD = 2.79 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Sydney Taichung 7,220 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 Taichung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,182 in Sydney, $1,143 in Taichung – roughly 178% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,774 per month in Sydney and $1,714 in Taichung. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taichung, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Sydney and $32.00 in Taichung. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,182 in Sydney and $1,143 in Taichung. That's a gap of about 178%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Taichung, where all-in costs run around $1,143, than in Sydney at $3,182. In Taichung it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Taichung – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Taichung. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sydney makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.