Cost of living comparison

Taiwan

compared to

Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste vs. Taiwan Cost of Living Summary

Timor-Leste is 28.0% more expensive than Taiwan overall.

Restaurants: pay 55.0% more in Timor-Leste
Groceries: pay 32.7% less in Timor-Leste
Transportation: pay 3.2% more in Timor-Leste
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Timor-Leste
Childcare: pay 59.7% more in Timor-Leste
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.3% more in Timor-Leste
Clothing: pay 12.1% less in Timor-Leste

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Timor-Leste are more expensive than in Taiwan. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Timor-Leste. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Timor-Leste.

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Timor-Leste vs. Taiwan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Timor-Leste instead of Taiwan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 55.0% more for restaurants

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 NT$136.94	$5.00	+16.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.99 NT$159.58	$8.00	+60.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 NT$30.41	$1.67	+75.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 NT$20.68	$2.83	+337.9%
Average			+55.0%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.7% less for groceries

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Bread 1 loaf	$1.74 NT$55.75	$2.48	+42.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.75 NT$343.72	$1.00	-90.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.29 NT$360.84	$8.80	-22.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.49 NT$79.71	$2.70	+8.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 NT$118.68	$4.31	+16.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 NT$61.93	$1.51	-22.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.13 NT$36.09	$0.83	-26.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 NT$43.50	$1.13	-16.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.45 NT$46.48	$1.06	-27.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 NT$34.32	$0.55	-48.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 NT$30.56	$0.53	-44.7%
Average			-32.7%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.2% more for transportation

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.85 NT$123.03	$5.34	+38.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.67 NT$1,108.01	$30.00	-13.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,963.14 NT$1M	$18,000.00	-45.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 NT$271.68	$32.70	+284.7%
Average			+3.2%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.08 NT$673.70	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$462.93 NT$14,796.00	$828.75	+79.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$291.17 NT$9,306.13	$753.75	+158.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$62.73 NT$2,004.80	$114.71	+82.9%
Average			+109.8%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of housing

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pay 59.7% more for childcare

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$537.84 NT$17,189.98	$1,500.00	+178.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,498.18 NT$559K	$16,000.00	-8.6%
Average			+59.7%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 NT$58.32	$2.50	+37.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.83 NT$90.51	$4.12	+45.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.03 NT$128.75	$3.00	-25.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.82 NT$1,208.82	$50.00	+32.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.97 NT$318.70	$6.00	-39.8%
Average			+5.3%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.1% less for clothing

	Taiwan	Timor-Leste
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.97 NT$1,948.76	$60.00	-1.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.64 NT$1,043.09	$30.00	-8.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.55 NT$2,510.61	$80.00	+1.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.75 NT$2,964.27	$60.00	-35.3%
Average			-12.1%

Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of clothing

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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: Taiwan vs. Timor-Leste

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Timor-Leste?

Quality of Life Comparison · 6 statistics

Be 27.9 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Timor-Leste

Size Comparison · See true size

Taiwan is about 2.4 times bigger than Timor-Leste.

Moving from Taiwan to Timor-Leste · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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