Cost of living comparison

compared to

Taiwan vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Taiwan is 6.6% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.6% less in Taiwan
Groceries: pay 11.2% less in Taiwan
Transportation: pay 0.9% more in Taiwan
Housing: pay 22.0% less in Taiwan
Childcare: pay 24.0% more in Taiwan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.1% less in Taiwan
Clothing: pay 9.4% less in Taiwan

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

Taiwan vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Taiwan instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.6% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Taiwan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$4.82 NT$151.22	-28.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$5.16 NT$161.99	-6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$0.98 NT$30.70	-33.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$0.67 NT$21.02	-18.8%
Average			-21.6%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.2% less for groceries

	South Korea	Taiwan
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$1.77 NT$55.47	-38.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$9.29 NT$291.60	+65.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$11.90 NT$373.42	+55.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$2.61 NT$82.06	-7.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$3.56 NT$111.70	+6.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$2.03 NT$63.63	-37.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$1.00 NT$31.34	-28.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$1.25 NT$39.17	-55.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$1.55 NT$48.61	-35.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$1.20 NT$37.82	-32.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$1.03 NT$32.24	-14.7%
Average			-11.2%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.9% more for transportation

	South Korea	Taiwan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$3.78 NT$118.78	-14.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$34.06 NT$1,069.33	-27.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$35,728.87 NT$1,121,597.24	+35.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$9.18 NT$288.18	+10.2%
Average			+0.9%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.0% less for housing

	South Korea	Taiwan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$21.10 NT$662.43	-2.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$429.29 NT$13,476.23	-9.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$295.73 NT$9,283.44	-17.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$54.85 NT$1,721.85	-58.6%
Average			-22.0%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.0% more for childcare

	South Korea	Taiwan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$519.45 NT$16,306.62	+37.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$16,665.76 NT$523,169.72	+10.7%
Average			+24.0%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.1% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Taiwan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$1.97 NT$61.79	-36.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$3.00 NT$94.24	-15.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$4.54 NT$142.65	+42.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$37.49 NT$1,176.73	-24.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$10.04 NT$315.31	-0.7%
Average			-7.1%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.4% less for clothing

	South Korea	Taiwan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$65.08 NT$2,043.13	-2.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$31.24 NT$980.69	-38.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$79.60 NT$2,498.69	+9.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$96.29 NT$3,022.88	-6.7%
Average			-9.4%

South Korea vs. Taiwan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: December 2025

More cost comparisons

South Korea vs.

Vietnam

South Korea vs.

Australia

South Korea vs.

Peru

South Korea vs.

Spain

South Korea vs.

Ecuador

South Korea vs.

Germany

South Korea vs.

Thailand

South Korea vs.

France

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Seoul vs. Taipei

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 South Korea

Add prices for Taiwan

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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