Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipei and Shenzhen

For one person, living is cheaper in Shenzhen: $1,138 a month against $1,368 in Taipei, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Shenzhen
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Shenzhen Living Index

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Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,368

/mo nomad

Shenzhen

🇨🇳 China

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taipei and in Shenzhen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Taipei versus $1,138 in Shenzhen.

Taipei $1,368
Shenzhen $1,138

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,202 in Taipei versus $1,750 in Shenzhen.

Taipei $2,202
Shenzhen $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,036 in Taipei versus $2,362 in Shenzhen.

Taipei $3,036
Shenzhen $2,362

Living in Taipei is roughly 20% more expensive than in Shenzhen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taipei is 1% above, Shenzhen is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.60 NT$149

$3.67 ¥24.50

25.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.13 NT$1,528

$29.43 ¥197

60.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.58 NT$181

$5.28 ¥35.23

5.68%

Cappuccino

$3.45 NT$112

$3.27 ¥21.80

5.50%

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

$0.94 NT$30.61

$0.54 ¥3.62

74.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.73

$0.33 ¥2.19

103.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$92.7

$1.53 ¥10.22

86.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 NT$120

$2.15 ¥14.35

72.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.12 NT$101

$1.62 ¥10.83

92.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.97 NT$64.0

$1.62 ¥10.83

21.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 NT$103

$1.09 ¥7.26

189.91%

Eggs

$2.68 NT$86.9

$1.71 ¥11.42

56.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.90 NT$645

$21.39 ¥143

-6.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 NT$319

$3.45 ¥23.05

185.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.51 NT$698

$14.25 ¥95.1

50.95%

Apples (1kg)

$4.85 NT$157

$2.34 ¥15.62

107.26%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 NT$105

$1.58 ¥10.53

105.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 NT$98.2

$1.95 ¥13.02

55.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.53 NT$147

$1.47 ¥9.84

208.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$1.08 ¥7.20

158.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 NT$75.9

$1.25 ¥8.34

87.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 NT$54.5

$0.59 ¥3.96

184.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 NT$35.62

$0.59 ¥3.95

86.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 NT$123

$4.41 ¥29.43

-13.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.17 NT$460

$11.73 ¥78.3

20.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 NT$53.0

$0.98 ¥6.56

66.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$74.3

$1.75 ¥11.67

30.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 NT$21.04

$0.63 ¥4.19

3.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.88 NT$1,228

$22.28 ¥149

70.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$1.45 ¥9.70

84.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 NT$26.55

$0.39 ¥2.60

110.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.17 NT$297

$7.02 ¥46.86

30.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.93

$1.34 ¥8.95

-23.88%

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

$32.8K NT$1.1M

$19.4K ¥129.7K

68.92%

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

$24.5K NT$795.1K

$18.1K ¥121.2K

35.09%

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

$87.7 NT$2,843

$65.1 ¥435

34.69%

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

$17.28 NT$560

$10.25 ¥68.4

68.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.38 NT$888

$16.17 ¥108

69.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.32 NT$1,308

$48.78 ¥326

-17.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.94 NT$517

$17.24 ¥115

-7.54%

Cinema Ticket

$9.83 NT$319

$7.51 ¥50.2

30.89%

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

$663 NT$21.5K

$538 ¥3,591

23.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K NT$538.4K

$24.3K ¥161.9K

-31.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 NT$2,025

$54.9 ¥367

13.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.51 NT$1,281

$40.04 ¥267

-1.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 NT$2,740

$72.4 ¥484

16.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NT$3,424

$93.4 ¥624

13.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$999 NT$32.4K

$768 ¥5,128

30.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 NT$15.3K

$486 ¥3,243

-2.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 NT$50.8K

$1,982 ¥13.2K

-21.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 NT$30.7K

$869 ¥5,805

9.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.9K NT$385.6K

$13.8K ¥91.9K

-13.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,306 NT$236.9K

$6,098 ¥40.7K

19.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,760 NT$57.1K

$1,736 ¥11.6K

1.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

3.35

-28.36%

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

Last update for Taipei: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shenzhen: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipei

$473 34.6%

Shenzhen

$486 42.7% 2.6% $12

Groceries & Markets

Taipei

$400 29.3%

Shenzhen

$251 22.1% 37.2% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipei

$132 9.7%

Shenzhen

$92 8% 30.8% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Taipei

$131 9.6%

Shenzhen

$117 10.3% 10.7% $14

Eating Out

Taipei

$123 9%

Shenzhen

$100 8.8% 18.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Taipei

$60 4.4%

Shenzhen

$64 5.6% 6.4% $3.8

Getting Around

Taipei

$47 3.5%

Shenzhen

$28 2.5% 40.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $999 in Taipei and $768 in Shenzhen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 1% 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: $47.00 in Taipei vs $29.00 in Shenzhen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $400 vs $251 per month, with Shenzhen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taipei

🇨🇳 Shenzhen

🕒 Local time

11:57 11:57 AM

Same time as Taipei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,635,286 Capital

12,528,300

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

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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

Taipei vs Shenzhen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shenzhen wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Taipei. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Shenzhen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1% higher in Taipei, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $999 in Taipei versus $768 in Shenzhen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Shenzhen runs roughly 70% less than in Taipei. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $663 in Taipei versus $538 in Shenzhen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,138 in Shenzhen versus $1,368 in Taipei, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shenzhen but tight or insufficient in Taipei. The gap between the two cities makes Shenzhen 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 Shenzhen 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 Shenzhen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Taipei. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.