Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Taiwan

Taoyuan vs. Shah Alam Cost of Living Summary

Taoyuan is 53.1% more expensive than Shah Alam.

Restaurants: pay 58.5% more in Taoyuan
Groceries: pay 36.2% more in Taoyuan
Transportation: pay 86.3% more in Taoyuan
Housing: pay 16.9% more in Taoyuan
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Taoyuan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.6% more in Taoyuan
Clothing: pay 26.2% more in Taoyuan

The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and housing in Taoyuan are more expensive than in Shah Alam. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Taoyuan.

Taoyuan vs. Shah Alam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Taoyuan instead of Shah Alam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 58.5% more for restaurants

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.55 MYR14.71	$5.73 NT$181.77	+61.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.27 MYR17.65	$5.24 NT$166.19	+22.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 MYR2.89	$1.18 NT$37.39	+68.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.41 MYR1.69	$0.74 NT$23.37	+80.9%
Average			+58.5%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.2% more for groceries

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 MYR4.09	$1.36 NT$43.21	+38.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.11 MYR29.42	$4.34 NT$137.63	-38.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.04 MYR29.13	$11.87 NT$376.35	+68.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.08 MYR8.61	$2.16 NT$68.55	+4.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MYR9.12	$3.50 NT$110.88	+58.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.11	$1.43 NT$45.39	+15.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 MYR2.89	$0.85 NT$27.00	+21.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 MYR4.75	$1.17 NT$37.22	+2.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 MYR2.70	$1.30 NT$41.23	+99.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.20	$1.04 NT$32.98	+96.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.57	$0.82 NT$25.91	+31.8%
Average			+36.2%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of groceries

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pay 86.3% more for transportation

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.84 MYR7.61	$3.81 NT$120.66	+107.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.40 MYR63.74	$39.32 NT$1,246.45	+155.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,767.77 MYR140K	$35,064.72 NT$1M	+3.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.31 MYR21.96	$9.50 NT$301.23	+79.0%
Average			+86.3%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.9% more for housing

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.45 MYR126.00	$18.64 NT$590.75	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$313.98 MYR1,299.25	$409.63 NT$12,983.86	+30.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$274.88 MYR1,137.46	$335.90 NT$10,646.76	+22.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.51 MYR130.40	$48.36 NT$1,532.76	+53.5%
Average			+16.9%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$229.86 MYR951.15	$557.10 NT$17,658.05	+142.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,250.00 MYR25,862.50	$14,992.63 NT$475K	+139.9%
Average			+141.2%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.55 MYR14.71	$1.54 NT$48.82	-56.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MYR12.05	$2.82 NT$89.33	-3.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.65	$6.23 NT$197.35	+46.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.51 MYR159.34	$34.82 NT$1,103.80	-9.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.28 MYR25.99	$9.83 NT$311.61	+56.6%
Average			+6.6%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.2% more for clothing

	Shah Alam	Taoyuan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.45 MYR229.45	$62.26 NT$1,973.55	+12.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.52 MYR142.84	$16.39 NT$519.35	-52.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.57 MYR254.78	$76.47 NT$2,423.65	+24.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.55 MYR184.35	$98.31 NT$3,116.13	+120.7%
Average			+26.2%

Shah Alam vs. Taoyuan - 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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