Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipei and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipei: $1,395 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,395

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taipei and in Melbourne

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Taipei and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,395 in Taipei versus $2,852 in Melbourne.

Taipei $1,395
Melbourne $2,852

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,227 in Taipei versus $4,297 in Melbourne.

Taipei $2,227
Melbourne $4,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,059 in Taipei versus $5,742 in Melbourne.

Taipei $3,059
Melbourne $5,742

Living in Taipei costs roughly 51% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Taipei 4% above, Melbourne 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.76 NT$152

$17.75 A$25.40

-73.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.18 NT$1,537

$84.8 A$121

-43.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.75 NT$183

$12.16 A$17.40

-52.71%

Cappuccino

$3.49 NT$112

$3.93 A$5.62

-11.20%

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

$0.88 NT$28.03

$3.14 A$4.49

-71.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 NT$20.61

$2.43 A$3.47

-73.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$91.4

$9.90 A$14.17

-71.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 NT$117

$8.29 A$11.86

-55.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.09 NT$98.5

$1.55 A$2.21

99.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 NT$65.5

$3.01 A$4.31

-31.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.06 NT$97.5

$2.88 A$4.12

6.25%

Eggs

$2.70 NT$86.0

$5.44 A$7.79

-50.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.66 NT$627

$10.59 A$15.16

85.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.83 NT$314

$9.61 A$13.76

2.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.11 NT$674

$14.99 A$21.46

40.83%

Apples (1kg)

$5.08 NT$162

$4.15 A$5.94

22.41%

Banana (1kg)

$3.39 NT$108

$3.05 A$4.37

11.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NT$95.8

$3.30 A$4.72

-9.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.56 NT$146

$4.76 A$6.81

-4.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.72 NT$86.8

$3.04 A$4.34

-10.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.28 NT$72.9

$2.55 A$3.65

-10.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 NT$53.7

$2.48 A$3.55

-32.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 NT$36.81

$1.63 A$2.33

-29.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 NT$129

$44.07 A$63.1

-90.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.32 NT$457

$12.43 A$17.79

15.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 NT$54.2

$5.33 A$7.63

-68.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$73.0

$5.16 A$7.38

-55.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.46

$3.84 A$5.50

-84.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.47 NT$1,228

$142 A$203

-72.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 NT$87.0

$4.40 A$6.29

-37.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.02

$1.40 A$2.01

-46.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.59 NT$306

$29.83 A$42.69

-67.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.56

$1.46 A$2.09

-30.14%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$28.1K A$40.3K

21.09%

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

$24.2K NT$771.9K

$25.9K A$37.1K

-6.76%

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

$86.4 NT$2,756

$233 A$333

-62.88%

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

$17.12 NT$546

$27.28 A$39.04

-37.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.06 NT$864

$57.0 A$81.6

-52.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.77 NT$1,301

$52.7 A$75.4

-22.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.04 NT$512

$22.62 A$32.37

-29.09%

Cinema Ticket

$9.63 NT$307

$17.10 A$24.48

-43.68%

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

$656 NT$20.9K

$2,373 A$3,397

-72.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K NT$524.1K

$30.5K A$43.6K

-46.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.7 NT$2,001

$78.2 A$112

-19.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.50 NT$1,261

$50.5 A$72.2

-21.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.9 NT$2,677

$121 A$172

-30.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NT$3,392

$133 A$191

-20.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 NT$32.4K

$1,713 A$2,451

-40.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 NT$15.3K

$1,402 A$2,006

-65.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 NT$50.0K

$3,339 A$4,778

-53.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 NT$30.4K

$2,529 A$3,619

-62.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.2K NT$389.2K

$7,018 A$10.0K

73.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,207 NT$230.0K

$6,767 A$9,685

6.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,772 NT$56.5K

$4,228 A$6,051

-58.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

5.9

-59.32%

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

Last update for Taipei: October 4, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipei

$479 34.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 193% $923

Groceries & Markets

Taipei

$401 29.2%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Taipei

$132 9.6%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 30.8% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipei

$131 9.5%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 143% $186

Eating Out

Taipei

$125 9.1%

Melbourne

$314 11% 151% $189

Sport & Entertainment

Taipei

$60 4.4%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 44.7% $27

Getting Around

Taipei

$47 3.5%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 255% $121

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,016 in Taipei and $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 139% 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: $48.00 in Taipei vs $85.0 in Melbourne. Groceries flip the comparison at $401 vs $385, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taipei

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

15:18 3:18 PM

18:18 6:18 PM

3 h ahead of Taipei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,635,286 Capital

5,031,195

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.79 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

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).

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).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taipei Melbourne 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Taipei
Melbourne

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

Taipei vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taipei and Melbourne differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($1,395 vs $2,852 including rent). Taipei is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 139% lower in Melbourne. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,016 in Taipei versus $1,713 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $656 in Taipei versus $2,373 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,395 in Taipei versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Taipei but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taipei 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, Taipei and Melbourne 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 Taipei gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.