Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Taiwan

Tainan vs. Johor Bahru Cost of Living Summary

Tainan is 48.3% more expensive than Johor Bahru.

Restaurants: pay 47.6% more in Tainan
Groceries: pay 90.8% more in Tainan
Transportation: pay 57.4% more in Tainan
Housing: pay 3.7% less in Tainan
Childcare: pay 37.9% more in Tainan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.9% more in Tainan
Clothing: pay 80.9% more in Tainan

The cost of groceries, clothing, transportation, restaurants, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Tainan are more expensive than in Johor Bahru. Notably, groceries and clothing are significantly more expensive in Tainan.

Tainan vs. Johor Bahru Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tainan instead of Johor Bahru, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.6% more for restaurants

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.55 MYR14.71	$6.55 NT$207.74	+84.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.61	$4.92 NT$155.81	+3.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 MYR3.25	$1.14 NT$36.28	+45.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 MYR1.95	$0.74 NT$23.34	+56.3%
Average			+47.6%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 90.8% more for groceries

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.05	$1.87 NT$59.42	+91.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 MYR22.06	$9.47 NT$300.08	+77.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.01 MYR29.01	$11.91 NT$377.48	+69.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.86 MYR7.71	$2.64 NT$83.81	+42.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MYR9.10	$4.42 NT$139.97	+100.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.11	$1.90 NT$60.07	+53.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 MYR2.81	$1.27 NT$40.18	+87.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 MYR4.75	$1.37 NT$43.42	+19.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 MYR2.33	$1.92 NT$61.01	+242.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.20	$1.29 NT$40.79	+142.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.57	$1.07 NT$33.94	+72.7%
Average			+90.8%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of groceries

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pay 57.4% more for transportation

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.84 MYR7.62	$3.83 NT$121.41	+107.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR49.03	$21.30 NT$675.16	+79.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,545.02 MYR147K	$36,375.55 NT$1M	+2.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.69 MYR27.70	$9.34 NT$296.03	+39.5%
Average			+57.4%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7% less for housing

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.15 MYR124.78	$22.12 NT$701.13	-26.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$494.94 MYR2,048.08	$316.78 NT$10,040.85	-36.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$375.20 MYR1,552.57	$190.07 NT$6,024.51	-49.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.51 MYR130.40	$62.05 NT$1,966.64	+96.9%
Average			-3.7%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of housing

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pay 37.9% more for childcare

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$153.04 MYR633.28	$262.17 NT$8,309.67	+71.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,279.62 MYR25,985.07	$6,554.15 NT$208K	+4.4%
Average			+37.9%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.55 MYR14.71	$3.24 NT$102.83	-8.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MYR12.03	$3.47 NT$109.93	+19.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.25 MYR17.60	$3.93 NT$124.65	-7.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.36 MYR142.18	$38.10 NT$1,207.67	+10.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.59	$10.98 NT$347.97	+120.6%
Average			+26.9%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 80.9% more for clothing

	Johor Bahru	Tainan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.76 MYR205.92	$66.48 NT$2,107.14	+33.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.59 MYR68.64	$29.49 NT$934.84	+77.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.09 MYR294.17	$88.45 NT$2,803.57	+24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.23 MYR166.45	$115.72 NT$3,667.89	+187.7%
Average			+80.9%

Johor Bahru vs. Tainan - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026

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