Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tirana and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,131 a month against $1,363 in Tirana, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Tirana
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Tirana Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Tirana

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,363

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tirana and in Kaohsiung

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Tirana and in Kaohsiung actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,363 in Tirana versus $1,131 in Kaohsiung.

Tirana $1,363
Kaohsiung $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,151 in Tirana versus $1,838 in Kaohsiung.

Tirana $2,151
Kaohsiung $1,838

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,939 in Tirana versus $2,544 in Kaohsiung.

Tirana $2,939
Kaohsiung $2,544

Living in Tirana is roughly 21% more expensive than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.79 ALL 789

$5.63 NT$183

73.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ALL 4,437

$31.36 NT$1,017

75.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.92 ALL 880

$4.65 NT$151

134.84%

Cappuccino

$2.28 ALL 183

$2.78 NT$90.1

-17.99%

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

$2.34 ALL 188

$1.08 NT$34.99

116.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 ALL 104

$0.66 NT$21.40

96.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.61 ALL 290

$1.52 NT$49.14

137.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 ALL 328

$2.49 NT$80.7

63.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.24 ALL 181

$3.10 NT$100

-27.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 ALL 91.9

$2.18 NT$70.7

-47.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 ALL 187

$2.94 NT$95.3

-21.09%

Eggs

$3.71 ALL 299

$2.68 NT$86.9

38.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 ALL 1,022

$15.81 NT$513

-19.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 ALL 725

$8.12 NT$263

10.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.82 ALL 1,354

$15.55 NT$504

8.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 ALL 157

$6.60 NT$214

-70.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 ALL 192

$2.73 NT$88.5

-12.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 ALL 179

$2.54 NT$82.2

-12.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 ALL 153

$3.13 NT$102

-39.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 ALL 80.9

$2.78 NT$90.2

-64.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.29 ALL 104

$2.00 NT$64.9

-35.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ALL 114

$2.43 NT$78.7

-41.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 ALL 58.4

$1.02 NT$33.12

-28.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.90 ALL 394

$4.45 NT$144

10.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.49 ALL 845

$15.54 NT$504

-32.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ALL 131

$1.57 NT$51.0

3.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ALL 169

$2.20 NT$71.5

-4.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 ALL 37.63

$0.71 NT$23.13

-33.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.16 ALL 1,543

$12.65 NT$410

51.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.59 ALL 289

$2.70 NT$87.6

32.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.65 ALL 294

$0.75 NT$24.34

386.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.53 ALL 1,492

$5.48 NT$178

238.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.37 ALL 191

$1.05 NT$33.97

125.71%

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

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

$33.6K NT$1.1M

-1.22%

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

$34.8K ALL 2.8M

$23.6K NT$765.3K

47.34%

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

$98.8 ALL 7,956

$85.5 NT$2,773

15.54%

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

$18.04 ALL 1,453

$17.29 NT$561

4.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.62 ALL 1,580

$26.39 NT$856

-25.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.3 ALL 4,532

$40.61 NT$1,317

38.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.96 ALL 1,607

$10.33 NT$335

93.22%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 ALL 772

$11.13 NT$361

-13.93%

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

$341 ALL 27.5K

$473 NT$15.3K

-27.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,182 ALL 658.9K

$14.1K NT$456.9K

-41.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.6 ALL 5,846

$92.9 NT$3,013

-21.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.87 ALL 3,775

$31.16 NT$1,011

50.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 ALL 9,492

$88.0 NT$2,855

33.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 ALL 8,807

$102 NT$3,310

7.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$799 ALL 64.3K

$437 NT$14.2K

83.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$486 ALL 39.2K

$301 NT$9,746

61.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,528 ALL 123.1K

$1,005 NT$32.6K

52.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$879 ALL 70.8K

$681 NT$22.1K

29.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,404 ALL 354.7K

$4,523 NT$146.7K

-2.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,153 ALL 173.4K

$3,193 NT$103.5K

-32.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$866 ALL 69.7K

$1,471 NT$47.7K

-41.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

2.56

110.55%

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

Last update for Tirana: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tirana

$486 35.7%

Kaohsiung

$301 26.6% 38.2% $186

Groceries & Markets

Tirana

$287 21.1%

Kaohsiung

$363 32.1% 26.3% $76

Eating Out

Tirana

$179 13.1%

Kaohsiung

$112 9.9% 37.5% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Tirana

$156 11.4%

Kaohsiung

$141 12.5% 9.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tirana

$136 10%

Kaohsiung

$129 11.4% 5.3% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Tirana

$75 5.5%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.6% 16.7% $13

Getting Around

Tirana

$43 3.1%

Kaohsiung

$22 1.9% 48.8% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $799 in Tirana and $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays 70% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Tirana vs $31.00 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $363, with Tirana cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Tirana

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

11:25 11:25 AM

6 h ahead of Tirana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

418,495 Capital

2,777,873

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

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).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tirana Kaohsiung 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Tirana
Kaohsiung

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

Tirana vs Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tirana and Kaohsiung differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($1,363 vs $1,131 including rent). Kaohsiung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Kaohsiung. 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: $799 in Tirana versus $437 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $341 in Tirana versus $473 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Tirana pay roughly 26% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,131 in Kaohsiung versus $1,363 in Tirana, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kaohsiung but tight or insufficient in Tirana. The gap between the two cities makes Kaohsiung 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, Tirana and Kaohsiung 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 Kaohsiung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Tirana. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.