Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sydney and Taiping

For one person, living is cheaper in Taiping: $851 a month against $3,267 in Sydney, rent and utilities included – about $29,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Sydney
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Sydney Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Taiping
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Taiping Living Index

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Sydney

🇦🇺 Australia

$3,267

/mo nomad

Taiping

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$851

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sydney and in Taiping

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

A single person spends $3,267 per month in Sydney vs $851 in Taiping, rent included.

Sydney $3,267
Taiping $851

A couple spends around $4,847 per month in Sydney vs $1,309 in Taiping, rent included.

Sydney $4,847
Taiping $1,309

A family of three spends $6,428 per month in Sydney vs $1,768 in Taiping, rent included.

Sydney $6,428
Taiping $1,768

Sydney costs about 284% more than Taiping, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sydney sits 140% above the global median, while Taiping is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.87

$2.00 MYR 8.15

775.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.4 A$128

$24.84 MYR 101

263.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.96 A$16.99

$4.87 MYR 19.83

145.59%

Cappuccino

$4.00 A$5.68

$1.50 MYR 6.10

166.67%

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

$2.81 A$4.00

$0.76 MYR 3.08

269.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 A$3.16

$0.23 MYR 0.93

865.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.13 A$11.56

$2.14 MYR 8.70

279.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 A$10.23

$6.06 MYR 24.70

18.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 A$2.42

$1.31 MYR 5.36

29.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.17

$0.76 MYR 3.10

286.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 A$3.57

$1.92 MYR 7.82

30.73%

Eggs

$5.66 A$8.04

$1.45 MYR 5.89

290.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.22 A$17.36

$13.73 MYR 56.0

-11.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.31 A$13.24

$1.98 MYR 8.07

370.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 A$23.97

$4.83 MYR 19.67

249.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.90 A$5.54

$1.91 MYR 7.77

104.19%

Banana (1kg)

$3.22 A$4.58

$1.77 MYR 7.21

81.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.43 A$4.88

$1.97 MYR 8.04

74.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 A$6.16

$0.96 MYR 3.89

351.04%

Potato (1kg)

$3.35 A$4.75

$0.95 MYR 3.88

252.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.40 A$3.41

$1.24 MYR 5.06

93.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.32

$1.02 MYR 4.18

129.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 A$1.65

$0.47 MYR 1.93

146.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.47 A$64.6

$4.42 MYR 18.01

928.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.99 A$19.88

$14.97 MYR 61.0

-6.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.11 A$5.84

$2.93 MYR 11.93

40.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.18 A$5.94

$5.01 MYR 20.40

-16.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.12 A$4.44

$0.72 MYR 2.92

333.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$152 A$216

$12.12 MYR 49.40

1152.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.46 A$4.92

$1.03 MYR 4.18

235.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 A$2.22

$0.51 MYR 2.09

205.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.54 A$56.2

$4.90 MYR 19.97

706.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.05

$0.49 MYR 1.99

195.92%

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

$29.9K A$42.5K

$24.1K MYR 98.1K

24.22%

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

$27.5K A$39.1K

$24.3K MYR 98.8K

13.43%

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

$251 A$356

$63.2 MYR 257

297.09%

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

$27.76 A$39.44

$5.45 MYR 22.19

409.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.0 A$82.4

$24.56 MYR 100

136.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.7 A$100

$36.81 MYR 150

91.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.25 A$33.04

$6.43 MYR 26.22

261.59%

Cinema Ticket

$17.83 A$25.33

$4.86 MYR 19.79

266.87%

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

$2,358 A$3,351

$237 MYR 964

896.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.2K A$38.6K

$13.1K MYR 53.5K

107.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.5 A$114

$72.6 MYR 296

10.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.3 A$98.5

$42.74 MYR 174

62.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 A$157

$72.5 MYR 295

52.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 A$181

$94.5 MYR 385

34.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,566 A$3,646

$407 MYR 1,660

529.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,792 A$2,547

$288 MYR 1,173

522.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,202 A$7,391

$711 MYR 2,897

631.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,156 A$4,485

$543 MYR 2,211

481.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K A$19.0K

$2,044 MYR 8,326

555.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,727 A$12.4K

$1,142 MYR 4,651

664.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,118 A$5,851

$361 MYR 1,472

1040.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

48.00%

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

Last update for Sydney: October 24, 2026

Last update for Taiping: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sydney

$1.8K 54.9%

Taiping

$288 33.8% 83.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Sydney

$382 11.7%

Taiping

$202 23.8% 47.1% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sydney

$337 10.3%

Taiping

$93 11% 72.3% $243

Eating Out

Sydney

$299 9.2%

Taiping

$75 8.9% 74.8% $224

Getting Around

Sydney

$176 5.4%

Taiping

$19 2.2% 89.4% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Sydney

$175 5.3%

Taiping

$127 14.9% 27.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Sydney

$106 3.3%

Taiping

$47 5.5% 56.2% $60

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,566 in Sydney versus $407 in Taiping. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sydney are about 11 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Sydney versus $25 in Taiping. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $382 vs $202 – making Taiping the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Sydney

🇲🇾 Taiping

🕒 Local time

04:33 4:33 AM

01:33 1:33 AM

3 h behind Sydney

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,840,600

241,517

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sydney Taiping 6,820 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sydney
Taiping

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 Taiping: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,267 in Sydney, $851 in Taiping – roughly 284% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,900 per month in Sydney and $1,276 in Taiping. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taiping, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $407 there versus $2,566 in Sydney.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Sydney and $25 in Taiping. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,267 in Sydney and $851 in Taiping. That’s a gap of about 284%.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,267 in Sydney and $851 in Taiping. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Taiping – 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 Taiping. 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.