Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taitung and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Taitung: $1,035 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Taitung
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Taitung Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Taitung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,035

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Taitung 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 Taitung and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,035 in Taitung versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Taitung $1,035
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,802 in Taitung versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Taitung $1,802
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,569 in Taitung versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Taitung $2,569
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Taitung costs roughly 63% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taitung is 23% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.82 NT$124

$17.43 A$25.08

-78.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.18 NT$1,562

$84.6 A$122

-43.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.56 NT$180

$12.46 A$17.92

-55.38%

Cappuccino

$3.45 NT$112

$4.11 A$5.91

-16.06%

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

$0.95 NT$30.66

$3.06 A$4.40

-68.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 NT$22.00

$2.52 A$3.62

-73.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 NT$93.3

$9.80 A$14.10

-70.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.76 NT$122

$8.57 A$12.33

-56.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.09 NT$100

$1.48 A$2.14

108.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.7

$2.94 A$4.23

-36.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 NT$101

$2.66 A$3.82

17.29%

Eggs

$2.33 NT$75.4

$5.54 A$7.97

-57.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.49 NT$632

$10.51 A$15.13

85.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.89 NT$126

$9.65 A$13.89

-59.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.88 NT$709

$15.22 A$21.91

43.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.92 NT$62.1

$3.99 A$5.75

-51.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.92 NT$94.6

$3.02 A$4.34

-3.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 NT$62.5

$3.10 A$4.46

-37.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.50 NT$146

$4.82 A$6.93

-6.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.73 NT$88.4

$3.03 A$4.36

-9.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 NT$76.5

$2.44 A$3.52

-3.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 NT$57.7

$2.46 A$3.54

-27.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 NT$35.94

$1.63 A$2.34

-31.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 NT$130

$44.07 A$63.4

-90.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.07 NT$456

$12.70 A$18.28

10.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 NT$53.3

$5.54 A$7.97

-70.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 NT$73.8

$5.23 A$7.52

-56.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 NT$20.95

$3.74 A$5.38

-82.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.43 NT$1,181

$138 A$198

-73.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.72 NT$88.3

$4.51 A$6.50

-39.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 NT$25.14

$1.36 A$1.96

-42.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.18 NT$298

$30.45 A$43.81

-69.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 NT$29.33

$1.47 A$2.12

-38.78%

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

$33.2K NT$1.1M

$29.0K A$41.7K

14.62%

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

$24.1K NT$781.5K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-8.97%

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

$85.6 NT$2,777

$234 A$336

-63.35%

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

$17.66 NT$573

$27.93 A$40.19

-36.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.09 NT$878

$55.7 A$80.2

-51.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.70 NT$1,190

$49.40 A$71.1

-25.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$9.25 NT$300

$15.09 A$21.72

-38.70%

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

$677 NT$21.9K

$2,371 A$3,412

-71.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K NT$550.6K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-43.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.52 NT$925

$80.0 A$115

-64.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.68 NT$508

$50.7 A$73.0

-69.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$49.43 NT$1,603

$121 A$174

-59.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 NT$3,410

$130 A$188

-19.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$412 NT$13.4K

$1,759 A$2,531

-76.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 NT$8,133

$1,390 A$2,000

-81.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 NT$31.9K

$3,494 A$5,027

-71.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$747 NT$24.2K

$2,493 A$3,588

-70.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,734 NT$250.8K

$6,926 A$9,967

11.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,021 NT$162.8K

$6,445 A$9,274

-22.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$637 NT$20.7K

$4,383 A$6,307

-85.46%

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 Taitung: October 12, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taitung

$346 33.5%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 10.8% $38

Accommodation & Living

Taitung

$251 24.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 454% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taitung

$130 12.6%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 143% $187

Eating Out

Taitung

$117 11.3%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 169% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Taitung

$89 8.6%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 92% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Taitung

$55 5.3%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 44.2% $24

Getting Around

Taitung

$46 4.4%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 259% $118

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $412 in Taitung and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 588% 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 Taitung vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $346 vs $384 per month, with Taitung cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taitung

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

01:04 1:04 AM

04:04 4:04 AM

3 h ahead of Taitung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

106,368

5,031,195

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taitung Melbourne 7,180 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Taitung
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

Taitung vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taitung and Melbourne differ by about 173% in total monthly costs ($1,035 vs $2,821 including rent). Taitung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 588% 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: $412 in Taitung versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $677 in Taitung versus $2,371 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,035 in Taitung versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Taitung but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taitung 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, Taitung 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 Taitung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 173% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.