Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipei: $1,395 a month against $3,182 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $21,400 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,182

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,395

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Taipei

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

A single person spends $3,182 per month in Sydney vs $1,395 in Taipei, rent included.

Sydney $3,182
Taipei $1,395

A couple spends around $4,696 per month in Sydney vs $2,227 in Taipei, rent included.

Sydney $4,696
Taipei $2,227

A family of three spends $6,210 per month in Sydney vs $3,059 in Taipei, rent included.

Sydney $6,210
Taipei $3,059

Sydney costs about 128% more than Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sydney and Taipei sit above the global median – Sydney by 137%, Taipei by 4%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.66 A$25.37

$4.76 NT$152

271.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 A$139

$48.18 NT$1,538

101.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 A$17.15

$5.75 NT$184

107.65%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.75

$3.49 NT$112

14.61%

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

$2.84 A$4.07

$0.88 NT$28.04

222.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 A$3.26

$0.65 NT$20.62

249.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 A$11.33

$2.86 NT$91.4

175.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.13 A$10.24

$3.67 NT$117

94.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 A$2.39

$3.09 NT$98.6

-46.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 A$4.01

$2.05 NT$65.5

36.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.34

$3.06 NT$97.6

-24.18%

Eggs

$5.53 A$7.94

$2.70 NT$86.1

104.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.08 A$17.35

$19.66 NT$628

-38.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.84 A$14.14

$9.83 NT$314

0.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 A$23.87

$21.11 NT$674

-21.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.02 A$5.78

$5.08 NT$162

-20.87%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$3.39 NT$108

-7.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 A$5.03

$3.00 NT$95.9

16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.47 A$6.42

$4.56 NT$146

-1.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.32 A$4.77

$2.72 NT$86.8

22.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 A$3.31

$2.28 NT$72.9

0.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.37

$1.68 NT$53.7

39.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 A$1.66

$1.15 NT$36.82

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.02 A$64.7

$4.05 NT$129

1011.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 A$20.05

$14.32 NT$457

-2.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.98 A$5.72

$1.70 NT$54.2

134.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 A$5.84

$2.29 NT$73.0

77.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 A$4.54

$0.61 NT$19.47

418.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 A$215

$38.47 NT$1,228

289.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.96

$2.73 NT$87.0

26.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.75 NT$24.03

117.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.98 A$57.4

$9.59 NT$306

316.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.02 NT$32.57

37.25%

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

$28.4K A$40.8K

$34.1K NT$1.1M

-16.61%

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

$29.4K A$42.2K

$24.2K NT$772.3K

21.56%

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

$220 A$316

$86.4 NT$2,757

154.59%

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

$27.70 A$39.79

$17.12 NT$547

61.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.5 A$79.8

$27.06 NT$864

105.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.3 A$107

$40.77 NT$1,302

82.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.95 A$34.41

$16.04 NT$512

49.31%

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 A$25.46

$9.63 NT$307

84.11%

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

$2,157 A$3,098

$656 NT$20.9K

228.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K A$40.6K

$16.4K NT$524.3K

72.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.4 A$113

$62.7 NT$2,002

25.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.5 A$101

$39.50 NT$1,261

78.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$160

$83.9 NT$2,678

32.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$189

$106 NT$3,393

23.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,514 A$3,612

$1,016 NT$32.4K

147.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,732 A$2,487

$479 NT$15.3K

261.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,889 A$7,022

$1,568 NT$50.1K

211.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,039 A$4,365

$952 NT$30.4K

219.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.2K A$19.0K

$12.2K NT$389.4K

8.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,117 A$11.7K

$7,207 NT$230.1K

12.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,082 A$5,864

$1,772 NT$56.6K

130.39%

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 5, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.7K 54.5%

Taipei

$479 34.8% 72.4% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$380 12%

Taipei

$401 29.2% 5.5% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$303 9.6%

Taipei

$131 9.5% 56.9% $173

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.4%

Taipei

$125 9.1% 58.2% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$176 5.6%

Taipei

$132 9.6% 25.4% $45

Getting Around

Sydney

$174 5.5%

Taipei

$47 3.5% 72.8% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$110 3.5%

Taipei

$60 4.4% 45.3% $50

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,514 in Sydney versus $1,016 in Taipei. 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 130% 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 $48.00 in Taipei. Groceries tell a different story – $380 in Sydney vs $401 in Taipei – so Sydney wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

16:35 4:35 PM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 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 = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.92 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.81 TWD (100 TWD = 2.79 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Sydney Taipei 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 Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,182 in Sydney, $1,395 in Taipei – roughly 128% 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 $2,092 in Taipei. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taipei, 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 $48.00 in Taipei. 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 $1,395 in Taipei. That's a gap of about 128%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Taipei, where all-in costs run around $1,395, than in Sydney at $3,182. In Taipei it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sydney it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Taipei – 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 Taipei. 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.