Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhubei City and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,055 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,055 in Zhubei City versus $2,821 in Melbourne.

Zhubei City $1,055
Melbourne $2,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Zhubei City versus $4,235 in Melbourne.

Zhubei City $1,841
Melbourne $4,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,627 in Zhubei City versus $5,650 in Melbourne.

Zhubei City $2,627
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Zhubei City 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: Zhubei City is 22% below, Melbourne is 109% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.83 NT$157

$17.43 A$25.08

-72.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.00 NT$908

$84.6 A$122

-66.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.07 NT$164

$12.46 A$17.92

-59.31%

Cappuccino

$2.89 NT$93.8

$4.11 A$5.91

-29.68%

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

$0.91 NT$29.41

$3.06 A$4.40

-70.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 NT$19.02

$2.52 A$3.62

-76.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.93 NT$62.5

$9.80 A$14.10

-80.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.6

$8.57 A$12.33

-72.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$1.48 A$2.14

88.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 NT$60.7

$2.94 A$4.23

-36.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.59 NT$149

$2.66 A$3.82

72.56%

Eggs

$2.85 NT$92.5

$5.54 A$7.97

-48.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.76 NT$803

$10.51 A$15.13

135.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 NT$271

$9.65 A$13.89

-13.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.93 NT$841

$15.22 A$21.91

70.37%

Apples (1kg)

$4.04 NT$131

$3.99 A$5.75

1.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$3.02 A$4.34

-19.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.69 NT$87.3

$3.10 A$4.46

-13.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 NT$106

$4.82 A$6.93

-32.16%

Potato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$97.9

$3.03 A$4.36

-0.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.02 NT$65.5

$2.44 A$3.52

-17.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.06 NT$66.9

$2.46 A$3.54

-16.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 NT$43.25

$1.63 A$2.34

-18.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.88 NT$126

$44.07 A$63.4

-91.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 NT$299

$12.70 A$18.28

-27.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 NT$46.36

$5.54 A$7.97

-74.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 NT$75.4

$5.23 A$7.52

-55.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.85

$3.74 A$5.38

-83.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.10 NT$101

$4.51 A$6.50

-31.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 NT$20.76

$1.36 A$1.96

-52.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.25 NT$300

$30.45 A$43.81

-69.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 NT$32.17

$1.47 A$2.12

-32.65%

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

$33.5K NT$1.1M

$29.0K A$41.7K

15.40%

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

$24.8K NT$805.7K

$26.5K A$38.1K

-6.15%

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

$103 NT$3,331

$234 A$336

-56.05%

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

$18.96 NT$615

$27.93 A$40.19

-32.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.80 NT$739

$55.7 A$80.2

-59.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.40 NT$1,018

$49.40 A$71.1

-36.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$9.99 NT$324

$15.09 A$21.72

-33.80%

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

$646 NT$20.9K

$2,371 A$3,412

-72.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K NT$533.8K

$30.2K A$43.5K

-45.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 NT$1,870

$80.0 A$115

-27.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.13 NT$1,010

$50.7 A$73.0

-38.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.8 NT$2,946

$121 A$174

-24.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.0 NT$3,209

$130 A$188

-24.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$501 NT$16.2K

$1,759 A$2,531

-71.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 NT$7,032

$1,390 A$2,000

-84.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 NT$35.7K

$3,494 A$5,027

-68.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 NT$24.9K

$2,493 A$3,588

-69.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.2K NT$525.9K

$6,926 A$9,967

134.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,751 NT$316.2K

$6,445 A$9,274

51.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,391 NT$77.5K

$4,383 A$6,307

-45.44%

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 Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhubei City

$400 37.9%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 3.9% $16

Accommodation & Living

Zhubei City

$217 20.6%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 541% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhubei City

$144 13.7%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 120% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Zhubei City

$125 11.9%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 37% $46

Eating Out

Zhubei City

$109 10.3%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 189% $206

Sport & Entertainment

Zhubei City

$51 4.9%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 54.9% $28

Getting Around

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 1772% $155

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 $501 in Zhubei City and $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 83% 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: $28.00 in Zhubei City vs $85.0 in Melbourne. Groceries flip the comparison at $400 vs $384, with Melbourne cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

11:10 11:10 AM

3 h ahead of Zhubei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

211,746

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

Zhubei City Melbourne 7,400 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhubei 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

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

Zhubei City and Melbourne differ by about 167% in total monthly costs ($1,055 vs $2,821 including rent). Zhubei City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 83% 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: $501 in Zhubei City versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Melbourne pay roughly 4% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,055 per month in Zhubei City versus $2,821 in Melbourne – a 167% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,055 in Zhubei City versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhubei City but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Zhubei 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, Zhubei 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 Zhubei City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 167% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.