Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipei and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tainan: $1,068 a month against $1,368 in Taipei, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
Learn more

Taipei Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
Learn more

Tainan Living Index

Jump to prices

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,368

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,068

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taipei and in Tainan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Taipei versus $1,068 in Tainan.

Taipei $1,368
Tainan $1,068

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,202 in Taipei versus $1,837 in Tainan.

Taipei $2,202
Tainan $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,036 in Taipei versus $2,606 in Tainan.

Taipei $3,036
Tainan $2,606

Living in Taipei is roughly 28% more expensive than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taipei is 1% above, Tainan is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.60 NT$149

$3.74 NT$121

22.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.13 NT$1,528

$24.62 NT$799

91.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.58 NT$181

$4.79 NT$155

16.49%

Cappuccino

$3.45 NT$112

$3.27 NT$106

5.50%

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

$0.94 NT$30.61

$0.95 NT$30.66

-1.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.73

$0.63 NT$20.54

6.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$92.7

$2.86 NT$92.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 NT$120

$3.49 NT$113

6.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.12 NT$101

$3.09 NT$100

0.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.97 NT$64.0

$1.77 NT$57.5

11.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 NT$103

$3.15 NT$102

0.32%

Eggs

$2.68 NT$86.9

$2.75 NT$89.3

-2.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.90 NT$645

$19.50 NT$632

2.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 NT$319

$9.88 NT$320

-0.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.51 NT$698

$21.04 NT$682

2.23%

Apples (1kg)

$4.85 NT$157

$4.96 NT$161

-2.22%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 NT$105

$2.86 NT$92.7

13.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 NT$98.2

$3.00 NT$97.4

1.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.53 NT$147

$4.48 NT$145

1.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$2.66 NT$86.4

4.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 NT$75.9

$2.27 NT$73.6

3.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 NT$54.5

$1.71 NT$55.3

-1.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 NT$35.62

$1.15 NT$37.31

-4.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.80 NT$123

$3.81 NT$124

-0.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.17 NT$460

$13.94 NT$452

1.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 NT$53.0

$1.65 NT$53.4

-1.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$74.3

$2.17 NT$70.3

5.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 NT$21.04

$0.61 NT$19.68

6.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.88 NT$1,228

$33.89 NT$1,099

11.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$2.53 NT$82.2

5.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 NT$26.55

$0.77 NT$24.92

6.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.17 NT$297

$5.74 NT$186

59.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.93

$1.01 NT$32.90

0.99%

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

$32.8K NT$1.1M

0.04%

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

$24.5K NT$795.1K

$24.1K NT$780.6K

1.86%

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

$87.7 NT$2,843

$87.2 NT$2,828

0.54%

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

$17.28 NT$560

$17.51 NT$568

-1.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.38 NT$888

$21.30 NT$691

28.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.32 NT$1,308

$45.65 NT$1,480

-11.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.94 NT$517

Cinema Ticket

$9.83 NT$319

$9.60 NT$311

2.40%

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

$663 NT$21.5K

$433 NT$14.1K

52.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K NT$538.4K

$5,413 NT$175.5K

206.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 NT$2,025

$63.2 NT$2,050

-1.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.51 NT$1,281

$39.20 NT$1,271

0.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 NT$2,740

$83.7 NT$2,716

0.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NT$3,424

$103 NT$3,353

2.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$999 NT$32.4K

$297 NT$9,624

236.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 NT$15.3K

$200 NT$6,470

137.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 NT$50.8K

$845 NT$27.4K

85.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 NT$30.7K

$696 NT$22.6K

36.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.9K NT$385.6K

$4,123 NT$133.7K

188.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,306 NT$236.9K

$3,022 NT$98.0K

141.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,760 NT$57.1K

$1,376 NT$44.6K

27.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

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

Last update for Taipei: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tainan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipei

$473 34.6%

Tainan

$200 18.7% 57.8% $274

Groceries & Markets

Taipei

$400 29.3%

Tainan

$393 36.9% 1.7% $7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipei

$132 9.7%

Tainan

$126 11.8% 4.8% $6.3

Clothing & Footwear

Taipei

$131 9.6%

Tainan

$130 12.2% 0.8% $1.1

Eating Out

Taipei

$123 9%

Tainan

$111 10.4% 9.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Taipei

$60 4.4%

Tainan

$65 6.1% 8.1% $4.9

Getting Around

Taipei

$47 3.5%

Tainan

$43 4% 9.7% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $999 in Taipei and $297 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 28% 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 $25.00 in Tainan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $400 vs $393 per month, with Tainan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taipei

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

08:15 8:15 AM

Same time as Taipei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,635,286 Capital

1,886,033

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taipei Tainan 270 km

From you

Taipei
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taipei and Tainan differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,368 vs $1,068 including rent). Tainan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 28% 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 $297 in Tainan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Taipei. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Tainan – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $47.00 in Taipei. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,068 in Tainan versus $1,368 in Taipei, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tainan but tight or insufficient in Taipei. The gap between the two cities makes Tainan 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 Tainan 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 Tainan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Taipei. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.