Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taoyuan and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Taoyuan: $1,200 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
Learn more

Taoyuan Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,200 in Taoyuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Taoyuan $1,200
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,816 in Taoyuan versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Taoyuan $1,816
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,433 in Taoyuan versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Taoyuan $2,433
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Taoyuan costs roughly 57% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taoyuan is 11% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.23 NT$137

$17.43 A$25.08

-75.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.93 NT$808

$84.6 A$122

-70.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.74 NT$186

$12.46 A$17.92

-53.93%

Cappuccino

$2.97 NT$96.2

$4.11 A$5.91

-27.74%

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

$1.02 NT$33.18

$3.06 A$4.40

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 NT$22.97

$2.52 A$3.62

-71.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.84 NT$59.8

$9.80 A$14.10

-81.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 NT$74.6

$8.57 A$12.33

-73.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.84 NT$92.2

$1.48 A$2.14

91.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 NT$39.64

$2.94 A$4.23

-58.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 NT$86.5

$2.66 A$3.82

0.38%

Eggs

$2.17 NT$70.4

$5.54 A$7.97

-60.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 NT$299

$10.51 A$15.13

-12.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.55 NT$245

$9.65 A$13.89

-21.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.09 NT$684

$15.22 A$21.91

38.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.83 NT$124

$3.99 A$5.75

-4.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 NT$66.8

$3.02 A$4.34

-31.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.11 NT$101

$3.10 A$4.46

0.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 NT$101

$4.82 A$6.93

-35.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 NT$80.2

$3.03 A$4.36

-18.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 NT$65.9

$2.44 A$3.52

-16.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 NT$75.6

$2.46 A$3.54

-5.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 NT$28.53

$1.63 A$2.34

-46.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.02 NT$163

$44.07 A$63.4

-88.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.89 NT$353

$12.70 A$18.28

-14.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 NT$46.45

$5.54 A$7.97

-74.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 NT$69.9

$5.23 A$7.52

-58.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 NT$17.81

$3.74 A$5.38

-85.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.07 NT$1,234

$138 A$198

-72.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 NT$88.8

$4.51 A$6.50

-39.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 NT$24.51

$1.36 A$1.96

-44.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.99 NT$227

$30.45 A$43.81

-77.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.37

$1.47 A$2.12

-31.97%

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

$32.8K NT$1.1M

$29.0K A$41.7K

13.21%

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

$23.3K NT$755.7K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-11.97%

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

$69.5 NT$2,252

$234 A$336

-70.28%

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

$17.72 NT$574

$27.93 A$40.19

-36.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.93 NT$711

$55.7 A$80.2

-60.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.59 NT$1,089

$49.40 A$71.1

-32.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.07 NT$229

$21.48 A$30.91

-67.09%

Cinema Ticket

$10.94 NT$355

$15.09 A$21.72

-27.50%

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

$517 NT$16.8K

$2,371 A$3,412

-78.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.3K NT$1.0M

$30.2K A$43.5K

3.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.3 NT$2,959

$80.0 A$115

14.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.83 NT$805

$50.7 A$73.0

-51.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.9 NT$2,655

$121 A$174

-32.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.2 NT$3,119

$130 A$188

-26.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$646 NT$20.9K

$1,759 A$2,531

-63.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$436 NT$14.1K

$1,390 A$2,000

-68.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$964 NT$31.2K

$3,494 A$5,027

-72.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$729 NT$23.6K

$2,493 A$3,588

-70.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,498 NT$243.2K

$6,926 A$9,967

8.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,782 NT$155.1K

$6,445 A$9,274

-25.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,549 NT$50.2K

$4,383 A$6,307

-64.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

5.9

-59.66%

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

Last update for Taoyuan: October 10, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taoyuan

$436 36.3%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 219% $954

Groceries & Markets

Taoyuan

$313 26.1%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 22.7% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Taoyuan

$132 11%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 29.8% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taoyuan

$109 9.1%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 191% $208

Eating Out

Taoyuan

$107 9%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 193% $207

Sport & Entertainment

Taoyuan

$55 4.6%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 43.5% $24

Getting Around

Taoyuan

$47 3.9%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 250% $117

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $646 in Taoyuan and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 183% 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: $25.00 in Taoyuan vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $313 vs $384 per month, with Taoyuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

08:48 8:48 AM

11:48 11:48 AM

3 h ahead of Taoyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,147,763

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Taoyuan Melbourne 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Taoyuan
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

Taoyuan vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Taoyuan and Melbourne differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($1,200 vs $2,821 including rent). Taoyuan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 183% 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: $646 in Taoyuan versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $517 in Taoyuan 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 23% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,200 in Taoyuan versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Taoyuan but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Taoyuan 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, Taoyuan 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 Taoyuan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.