Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhongli City and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongli City: $993 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Zhongli City
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Zhongli City Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Zhongli City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$993

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $993 in Zhongli City versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Zhongli City $993
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,675 in Zhongli City versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Zhongli City $1,675
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,357 in Zhongli City versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Zhongli City $2,357
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Zhongli City costs roughly 65% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zhongli City is 26% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.62 NT$150

$17.43 A$25.08

-73.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.29 NT$1,015

$84.6 A$122

-62.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.77 NT$155

$12.46 A$17.92

-61.72%

Cappuccino

$2.57 NT$83.4

$4.11 A$5.91

-37.47%

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

$1.03 NT$33.52

$3.06 A$4.40

-66.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.35

$2.52 A$3.62

-72.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.61 NT$52.2

$9.80 A$14.10

-83.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 NT$89.1

$8.57 A$12.33

-67.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.18 NT$103

$1.48 A$2.14

114.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 NT$56.3

$2.94 A$4.23

-40.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 NT$87.9

$2.66 A$3.82

1.88%

Eggs

$2.60 NT$84.3

$5.54 A$7.97

-53.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.77 NT$414

$10.51 A$15.13

21.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.09 NT$230

$9.65 A$13.89

-26.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.39 NT$499

$15.22 A$21.91

1.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 NT$121

$3.99 A$5.75

-6.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 NT$63.8

$3.02 A$4.34

-34.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NT$99.9

$3.10 A$4.46

-0.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 NT$72.1

$4.82 A$6.93

-53.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 NT$39.81

$3.03 A$4.36

-59.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 NT$61.5

$2.44 A$3.52

-22.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.44 NT$79.0

$2.46 A$3.54

-0.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 NT$27.52

$1.63 A$2.34

-47.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 NT$122

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.45 NT$501

$12.70 A$18.28

21.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 NT$50.2

$5.54 A$7.97

-72.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 NT$82.8

$5.23 A$7.52

-51.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.90

$3.74 A$5.38

-83.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.64 NT$1,221

$138 A$198

-72.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$4.51 A$6.50

-40.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 NT$18.72

$1.36 A$1.96

-57.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.61 NT$312

$30.45 A$43.81

-68.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 NT$31.60

$1.47 A$2.12

-34.01%

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

$33.1K NT$1.1M

$29.0K A$41.7K

14.02%

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

$23.3K NT$754.6K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-12.10%

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

$106 NT$3,433

$234 A$336

-54.69%

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

$14.76 NT$479

$27.93 A$40.19

-47.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 NT$556

$55.7 A$80.2

-69.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$312

$15.09 A$21.72

-36.25%

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

$344 NT$11.1K

$2,371 A$3,412

-85.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K NT$546.5K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-44.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 NT$2,338

$80.0 A$115

-9.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.46 NT$1,182

$50.7 A$73.0

-28.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.0 NT$1,782

$121 A$174

-54.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 NT$3,505

$130 A$188

-17.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$448 NT$14.5K

$1,759 A$2,531

-74.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 NT$8,125

$1,390 A$2,000

-81.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$874 NT$28.3K

$3,494 A$5,027

-74.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 NT$23.2K

$2,493 A$3,588

-71.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,288 NT$74.2K

$4,383 A$6,307

-47.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

5.9

-64.41%

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

Last update for Zhongli City: 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

Zhongli City

$315 31.8%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 21.7% $69

Accommodation & Living

Zhongli City

$251 25.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 455% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhongli City

$138 13.9%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 130% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Zhongli City

$122 12.3%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 40.5% $50

Eating Out

Zhongli City

$103 10.3%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 207% $212

Getting Around

Zhongli City

$46 4.6%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 259% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Zhongli City

$19 * 1.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 314% $60

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $448 in Zhongli City and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 92% 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: $31.00 in Zhongli City vs $85.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $384 per month, with Zhongli City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Zhongli City

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

11:32 11:32 AM

3 h ahead of Zhongli City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

396,453

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

Zhongli City Melbourne 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhongli City
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

Zhongli City vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhongli City and Melbourne differ by about 184% in total monthly costs ($993 vs $2,821 including rent). Zhongli City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 92% 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: $448 in Zhongli City versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $344 in Zhongli City 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 22% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $993 in Zhongli City versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Zhongli City but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhongli City 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, Zhongli City 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 Zhongli City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 184% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.