Cost of living comparison
compared to
Taiwan vs. China Cost of Living Summary
Taiwan is 42.5% more expensive than China overall.
Taiwan vs. China Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Taiwan instead of China, you would:
pay 33.4% more for restaurants
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.02
CN¥20.18
|
$4.28
NT$136.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.16
CN¥34.53
|
$4.99
NT$159.58
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.51
CN¥3.39
|
$0.95
NT$30.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.29
CN¥1.97
|
$0.65
NT$20.68
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of restaurants
pay 99.7% more for groceries
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.66
CN¥11.09
|
$1.74
NT$55.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.71
CN¥44.89
|
$10.75
NT$343.72
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.65
CN¥44.54
|
$11.29
NT$360.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.57
CN¥10.48
|
$2.49
NT$79.71
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.52
CN¥10.14
|
$3.71
NT$118.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.83
CN¥5.55
|
$1.94
NT$61.93
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.59
CN¥3.92
|
$1.13
NT$36.09
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.67
CN¥4.46
|
$1.36
NT$43.50
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
CN¥3.90
|
$1.45
NT$46.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.33
CN¥2.19
|
$1.07
NT$34.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.40
CN¥2.67
|
$0.96
NT$30.56
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of groceries
pay 33.7% more for transportation
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.77
CN¥31.93
|
$3.85
NT$123.03
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$20.77
CN¥139.03
|
$34.67
NT$1,108.01
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$18,838.53
CN¥126K
|
$32,963.14
NT$1M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$4.24
CN¥28.40
|
$8.50
NT$271.68
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of transportation
pay 40.8% more for housing
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$11.27
CN¥75.44
|
$21.08
NT$673.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$336.09
CN¥2,249.38
|
$462.93
NT$14,796.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$212.64
CN¥1,423.15
|
$291.17
NT$9,306.13
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$42.92
CN¥287.23
|
$62.73
NT$2,004.80
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of housing
pay 0.3% less for childcare
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$500.54
CN¥3,349.94
|
$537.84
NT$17,189.98
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,908.16
CN¥127K
|
$17,498.18
NT$559K
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of childcare
pay 21.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.12
CN¥7.52
|
$1.82
NT$58.32
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.84
CN¥19.01
|
$2.83
NT$90.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.71
CN¥24.80
|
$4.03
NT$128.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.75
CN¥279.45
|
$37.82
NT$1,208.82
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.28
CN¥42.01
|
$9.97
NT$318.70
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.1% more for clothing
|
China
|
Taiwan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.40
CN¥310.51
|
$60.97
NT$1,948.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.97
CN¥227.36
|
$32.64
NT$1,043.09
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.79
CN¥493.86
|
$78.55
NT$2,510.61
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$78.93
CN¥528.25
|
$92.75
NT$2,964.27
|
|
China vs. Taiwan - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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