Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipei and Sapporo

For one person, living costs are similar in Taipei and in Sapporo: $1,344 and $1,404 a month, rent and utilities included.

65

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Sapporo
Learn more

Sapporo Living Index

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Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,344

/mo nomad

Sapporo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,404

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taipei and in Sapporo

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

A single person spends $1,344 per month in Taipei vs $1,404 in Sapporo, rent included.

Taipei $1,344
Sapporo $1,404

A couple spends around $2,156 per month in Taipei vs $2,097 in Sapporo, rent included.

Taipei $2,156
Sapporo $2,097

A family of three spends $2,967 per month in Taipei vs $2,791 in Sapporo, rent included.

Taipei $2,967
Sapporo $2,791

Taipei is about 4% cheaper than Sapporo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Taipei sits 1% below the global median, while Sapporo is 4% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.54 NT$147

$6.20 ¥980

-26.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.57 NT$1,510

$28.04 ¥4,430

66.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.66 NT$184

$5.30 ¥837

6.79%

Cappuccino

$3.37 NT$109

$4.85 ¥767

-30.52%

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

$0.92 NT$29.95

$1.65 ¥261

-44.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 NT$21.98

$0.88 ¥139

-22.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 NT$93.5

$4.38 ¥693

-34.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 NT$119

$5.62 ¥889

-34.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.91 NT$94.3

$1.55 ¥244

87.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.00 NT$65.0

$1.35 ¥213

48.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.97 NT$96.3

$3.91 ¥618

-24.04%

Eggs

$2.69 NT$87.4

$1.76 ¥279

52.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 NT$618

$9.42 ¥1,489

102.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.58 NT$311

$6.76 ¥1,068

41.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.37 NT$693

$25.61 ¥4,046

-16.56%

Apples (1kg)

$4.78 NT$155

$3.19 ¥504

49.84%

Banana (1kg)

$3.17 NT$103

$3.12 ¥494

1.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 NT$96.4

$3.20 ¥506

-7.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.42 NT$143

$4.19 ¥663

5.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.67 NT$86.5

$2.09 ¥331

27.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 NT$74.4

$1.74 ¥275

31.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 NT$53.6

$1.49 ¥235

10.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 NT$35.23

$0.45 ¥70.8

142.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 NT$124

$4.00 ¥633

-4.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.64 NT$442

$8.19 ¥1,293

66.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 NT$53.4

$1.92 ¥303

-14.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 NT$71.7

$3.17 ¥501

-30.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 NT$19.15

$1.60 ¥253

-63.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.39 NT$1,213

$48.16 ¥7,609

-22.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 NT$86.4

$4.02 ¥635

-33.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 NT$24.61

$1.63 ¥257

-53.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.48 NT$307

$16.05 ¥2,536

-40.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 NT$32.60

$1.11 ¥175

-9.01%

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

$34.0K NT$1.1M

$21.8K ¥3.4M

56.41%

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

$23.6K NT$764.4K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

62.80%

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

$85.2 NT$2,764

$336 ¥53.0K

-74.62%

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

$17.20 NT$558

$25.59 ¥4,042

-32.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.54 NT$861

$47.75 ¥7,544

-44.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.54 NT$1,315

$48.58 ¥7,674

-16.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.86 NT$514

$3.22 ¥509

392.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.61 NT$312

$12.12 ¥1,915

-20.71%

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

$651 NT$21.1K

$319 ¥50.4K

104.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K NT$530.6K

$9,987 ¥1.6M

63.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.6 NT$2,031

$37.38 ¥5,905

67.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.58 NT$1,283

$25.18 ¥3,978

57.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.1 NT$2,728

$47.33 ¥7,478

77.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 NT$3,377

$114 ¥18.0K

-8.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 NT$31.7K

$453 ¥71.6K

115.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$466 NT$15.1K

$275 ¥43.4K

69.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 NT$48.7K

$824 ¥130.2K

82.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$916 NT$29.7K

$641 ¥101.3K

42.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.0K NT$388.7K

$2,168 ¥342.5K

452.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,082 NT$229.6K

$1,559 ¥246.4K

354.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,728 NT$56.0K

$2,233 ¥352.9K

-22.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

2.57

-6.61%

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

Last update for Taipei: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sapporo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipei

$466 34.7%

Sapporo

$275 19.6% 41.1% $192

Groceries & Markets

Taipei

$390 29%

Sapporo

$312 22.3% 19.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Taipei

$131 9.7%

Sapporo

$101 7.2% 22.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipei

$129 9.6%

Sapporo

$409 29.2% 217% $280

Eating Out

Taipei

$122 9.1%

Sapporo

$167 11.9% 37% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Taipei

$60 4.5%

Sapporo

$73 5.2% 21.9% $13

Getting Around

Taipei

$46 3.4%

Sapporo

$67 4.8% 44.4% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $977 in Taipei versus $453 in Sapporo. 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 29% higher in Sapporo, 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 $47.00 in Taipei versus $28.00 in Sapporo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $390 vs $312 – making Sapporo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taipei

🇯🇵 Sapporo

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

00:29 12:29 AM

1 h ahead of Taipei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,635,286 Capital

1,973,395

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taipei Sapporo 2,700 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Taipei
Sapporo

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 Sapporo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sapporo is pricier by about 4%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,016 per month in Taipei and $2,105 in Sapporo. 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 $47.00 in Taipei and $28.00 in Sapporo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,344 in Taipei and $1,404 in Sapporo. That's a gap of about 4%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Taipei, where all-in costs run around $1,344, than in Sapporo at $1,404. In Taipei it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sapporo 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, Sapporo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.