Cost of living comparison

Mexico

compared to

Taiwan

Tainan vs. Monterrey Cost of Living Summary

Tainan is 35.9% cheaper than Monterrey.

Restaurants: pay 63.0% less in Tainan
Groceries: pay 24.7% more in Tainan
Transportation: pay 1.5% less in Tainan
Housing: pay 64.6% less in Tainan
Childcare: pay 45.8% less in Tainan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.8% more in Tainan
Clothing: pay 14.7% less in Tainan

The cost of groceries and entertainment and sports in Tainan are more expensive than in Monterrey. Expenses including housing, restaurants, childcare, clothing, and transportation are lower in Tainan.

Planning a move to Taiwan? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Tainan vs. Monterrey Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tainan instead of Monterrey, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.0% less for restaurants

	Monterrey	Tainan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.91 MX$257.20	$3.77 NT$122.24	-72.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.13 MX$205.76	$4.71 NT$152.81	-57.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 MX$30.99	$0.92 NT$29.80	-45.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 MX$19.03	$0.65 NT$21.18	-36.6%
Average			-63.0%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.7% more for groceries

	Monterrey	Tainan
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95 MX$54.63	$1.76 NT$57.28	-40.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.13 MX$113.44	$9.85 NT$319.53	+60.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.20 MX$133.19	$11.54 NT$374.58	+60.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 MX$47.39	$2.72 NT$88.34	+6.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.28 MX$79.19	$4.45 NT$144.40	+3.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 MX$28.05	$2.23 NT$72.36	+47.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 MX$13.19	$1.29 NT$41.72	+80.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.98 MX$18.19	$1.38 NT$44.91	+40.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.12 MX$20.72	$2.02 NT$65.53	+80.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.06 MX$19.52	$1.25 NT$40.46	+18.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.23 MX$22.77	$1.04 NT$33.78	-15.5%
Average			+24.7%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.5% less for transportation

	Monterrey	Tainan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.91 MX$109.36	$3.93 NT$127.46	-33.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.04 MX$592.58	$33.74 NT$1,095.10	+5.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,528.95 MX$398K	$33,523.97 NT$1M	+55.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.57 MX$195.47	$8.87 NT$287.78	-16.1%
Average			-1.5%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 64.6% less for housing

	Monterrey	Tainan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.79 MX$495.42	$21.44 NT$695.94	-20.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$981.90 MX$18,158.20	$298.20 NT$9,677.67	-69.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$685.94 MX$12,685.02	$196.18 NT$6,366.89	-71.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.91 MX$1,699.66	$66.27 NT$2,150.71	-27.9%
Average			-64.6%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.8% less for childcare

	Monterrey	Tainan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$703.26 MX$13,005.38	$431.61 NT$14,007.15	-38.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,496.80 MX$213K	$5,493.16 NT$178K	-52.2%
Average			-45.8%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Monterrey	Tainan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.36 MX$43.72	$2.83 NT$91.68	+19.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 MX$74.68	$3.24 NT$105.27	-19.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.90 MX$90.53	$3.92 NT$127.34	-19.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.22 MX$577.27	$44.98 NT$1,459.80	+44.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.29 MX$97.74	$9.73 NT$315.80	+84.1%
Average			+23.8%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.7% less for clothing

	Monterrey	Tainan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.56 MX$1,360.29	$63.18 NT$2,050.48	-14.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.76 MX$790.75	$39.99 NT$1,297.67	-6.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.51 MX$2,080.57	$84.98 NT$2,757.77	-24.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.67 MX$2,231.48	$105.09 NT$3,410.39	-12.9%
Average			-14.7%

Monterrey vs. Tainan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Monterrey vs. Tainan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Tainan?

More cost comparisons

Monterrey vs.

Lima

Monterrey vs.

Toronto

Monterrey vs.

Sydney

Monterrey vs.

Athens

Monterrey vs.

Bangkok

Monterrey vs.

Paris

Monterrey vs.

Moscow

Monterrey vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Mexico vs. Taiwan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Mexico and Taiwan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Monterrey

Add prices for Tainan

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Tainan or Monterrey. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.