Cost Of Living For a Student in Taipei 2025

Average monthly spending for students in Taipei

How much money does a student need in a month to survive in Taipei?

Students in Taipei spend around 27,000 TWD per month on average. Depending on the lifestyle, a student can survive with a monthly budget as low as 4,100 TWD or as high as 300,000 TWD. Location is a very important factor and has a huge influence on expenditure and budget.

How do students spend their money in Taipei?

We asked thousands of students about their spending habits and expenditure break down.

Housing and accomodation expenditure for students

Students in Taipei typically spend from 14% to 25% of their total monthly expenditure on housing with 19% being the average. The average monthly spend on housing is 6,500 TWD with expenditure ranging from 990 TWD to 72,000 TWD. This cost mainly goes for rent but it also includes other accommodation-related expenses.

Electricity, utilities, energy, water, internet, and mobile expenditure for students

Utility expenditure like electricity, water, and gas in Taipei ranges from 4% to 10% of total expenses with 6% being the average for most students. The average monthly cost of utilities is 1,100 TWD with 170 TWD and 12,000 TWD being the upper and lower limits for a student of four.

Transport, fuel, and commute expenditure for students

Fuel consumption and cost of transport depend heavily on whether a student resides near school and work, but roughly speaking a student would expect to spend from 290 TWD to 21,000 TWD in a month on commuting with 1,900 TWD being the norm for most students. This means that money spent on transport constitutes about 4% of total spending on average but can go as low as 4% or as high as 10%.

Food, groceries, and basic shopping expenditure for students

The average outlay on groceries and basic houshold items for a typical student in a month in Taipei is 5,500 TWD. The cost of groceries can range between 840 TWD to 61,000 TWD. Students spend on average about 23% on food and groceries with upper and lower bounds of 17% and 27% respectively.

Healthcare and medical services expenditure for students

Students in Taipei allocate 6% to 12% of their total monthly expenditure to healthcare including health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses. The average spending on medical services and clinic visits is around 9%. The range of medical expenses range from 260 TWD to 19,000 TWD with 1,700 TWD being the norm for most students.

Leisure and shopping expenditure for students

This category mostly contains discretionary or non-essential expenses but also some non-discretionary spending like furniture for example. The monthly expenses range from 210 TWD to 15,000 TWD with 1,400 TWD being the average. Speaking of percentages, that equates to 2% to 7% of total expenses with an average of 3% for most students.

Education and schooling expenditure for students

Spending on education can vary drastically between different students. On average, education constitutes 18% of the monthly expenditure of students with 11% and 23% being the lower and upper bounds respectively. The average reported education cost is 5,200 TWD per month with 790 TWD being the minimum spent amount and 58,000 TWD being the maximum.

Affordable living in Taipei

Income and cost of living compatibility

We asked students one simple question and recorded their answers.

Is it affordable or economical to live in Taipei?

Around 67% of surveyed students think that living in Taipei is affordable with proper budgeting while 33% reported that it is just too expensive and not affordable even with frugality and thriftness.

Monthly costs and expenses of energy and basic utilities in Taipei

Energy, electricity, water, gas, internet, and mobile cost in Taipei

Utility Bill Cost / Electricity + Water + Gas / Student

170 TWD

1,100 TWD

12,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$5.3

$35

$390

Internet and cable cost

290 TWD

570 TWD

770 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$9.1

$18

$24

Mobile phone bill and charges

240 TWD

400 TWD

1,200 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$7.6

$13

$38

The average monthly energy and water consumption of students is around 1,100 TWD. The cost of internet and WiFi ranges from 290 TWD to 770 TWD with 570 TWD being the average internet bill. Finally, the average monthly mobile charges is around 400 TWD but can range between 240 TWD and 1,200 TWD depending on consumption. Mobile charges include both calling minutes as well as data packages.

Energy / Utility expense to income ratio

The average utility-to-income ratio in Taipei is around 4.8%. This means that people pay 4.8% of their income for energy, water, internet, and mobile charges. Those figures can range from 1.9% to 8.7% depending on salary and location.

A typical and healthy budgeting structure

The 50/30/20 rule

Spending among different people can vary significantly based on factors such as their income, lifestyle, location, and personal preferences. A commonly used guideline for budgeting is the 50/30/20 rule, which suggests allocating your income into three main categories in the following percentages.

• 50% for needs and financial obligations

  This category includes essential expenses like housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, and healthcare.

• 30% for wants and discretionary spending

  This category covers discretionary spending on non-essential items, such as dining out, entertainment, travel, and other lifestyle choices.

• 20% for savings and emergency fund

  This is the percentage that must be allocated to savings, emergency funds, and retirement accounts.

About financial planning, money management, and household budgeting

Low-cost alternatives in Taipei

People are always looking for ways to cut down expenses and reduce expenditures. The hallmark of any affordable place is the availability of discount stores, bargain deals, smart or secondhand shopping, refurbished items, and couponing. We asked students how easily cost-cutting is and the answers were distributed as follows:

Plenty of low-cost options59%

Few low-cost options41%

Based on the survey, 59% of the students living in Taipei have no problem finding low-cost alternatives to support a frugal lifestyle while 41% think that thriftness is difficult due to scarcity in discount markets and secondhand outlets.

Emergency Funds For Students

An emergency fund is a financial safety net comprised of easily accessible savings set aside to cover unexpected expenses or financial emergencies, typically amounting to three to six months' worth of living expenses. We asked students whether they have an emergency fund and the answers were as follows.

Yes65%

No35%

Based on the survey, 35% of the students living in Taipei said that they don't have an emergency fund while 65% said that they do.

Financial Literacy in

Financial literacy is the knowledge of concepts and principles related to personal finance that allow individuals to make informed decisions regarding their money such as budgeting, saving, investing, borrowing, managing debt, financial risk management, and planning.

Financial Leteracy62%

We asked student guardians and parents in Taipei whether they acquired any adequate personal financial training in their lives. Approximately 38% of the people who participated in the survey said that they are not well informed about the topics of budgeting, saving, etc., and just manage things based on their own experience, while 62% said that they know about the general principles of personal finance from sources other than their own experience.

Difficulty in Budgeting and Financial Planning

We wanted to understand whether students of have problems or difficulties in managing their expenditures and savings so we asked people one simple question: do you struggle with your personal finances? 35% of the participants reported that they indeed struggle in creating budgets and in organizing their finances while 65% said that they have everything under control.

Struggles with finance35%

Easily manages finances65%

Housing costs, accommodation, and housing affordability in Taipei

Rent Cost in Taipei

Monthly Rent Prices

Studio apartment monthly rent cost

4,700 TWD

7,000 TWD

19,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$150

$220

$590

1-bedroom apartment monthly rent cost

7,000 TWD

11,000 TWD

28,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$220

$350

$890

2-bedroom apartment monthly rent cost

9,300 TWD

14,000 TWD

37,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$290

$440

$1,200

3-bedroom apartment monthly rent cost

11,000 TWD

18,000 TWD

50,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$350

$590

$1,600

Furnished apartment monthly rent cost

22,000 TWD

56,000 TWD

110,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$710

$1,800

$3,500

Townhouse monthly rent cost

19,000 TWD

28,000 TWD

80,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$590

$890

$2,500

House monthly rent cost

22,000 TWD

56,000 TWD

110,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$710

$1,800

$3,500

Villa monthly rent cost

28,000 TWD

70,000 TWD

110,000 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$890

$2,200

$3,600

The monthly rental cost of a studio apartment in Taipei ranges between 4,700 TWD and 19,000 TWD, meanwhile the cost of monthly rental of a one-bedroom apartment can be anywhere from 7,000 TWD to 28,000 TWD. Two-bedroom rentals rate ranges between 9,300 TWD and 37,000 TWD per month. The monthly rental for a three-bedroom apartment ranges from 11,000 TWD to 50,000 TWD. The average rent of a townhouse in Taipei is around 28,000 TWD while house rental costs can be as high as 56,000 TWD per month. Finally, if you want to rent a villa, expect to pay anywhere from 28,000 TWD to 110,000 TWD per month.

Apartment and house prices in Taipei

Cost of buying a property

Studio apartment price

930,000 TWD

1.4M TWD

2.8M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$29,000

$44,000

$88,000

1-bedroom apartment price

1.1M TWD

1.8M TWD

6.9M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$35,000

$59,000

$220,000

2-bedroom apartment price

1.9M TWD

5.6M TWD

11M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$59,000

$180,000

$360,000

3-bedroom apartment price

6.2M TWD

9.3M TWD

28M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$200,000

$300,000

$890,000

Townhouse price

8M TWD

19M TWD

70M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$250,000

$590,000

$2.2M

House price

9.2M TWD

55M TWD

79M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$290,000

$1.8M

$2.5M

Villa price

11M TWD

62M TWD

92M TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$350,000

$2M

$2.9M

The average price of a studio apartment in Taipei can range from 930,000 TWD to 2.8M TWD depending on location. One bedroom cost can be anywhere from 1.1M TWD to 6.9M TWD. A villa can cost you 62M TWD on average with prices ranging from 11M TWD to 92M TWD.

House / apartment prices to income ratio

Property prices in Taipei can be x109 to x196 multiples of the monthly income depending on the property and the income of the person. On average, property prices are approximately x109 multiples of the average monthly salary in Taipei.

Rent to income ratio

The average rent-to-income ratio in Taipei is around 31%. This means that people pay 31% of their income for rent. Those figures can range from 21% to 40% depending on the salary, location, and type of property.

Housing affordability index

The housing affordability index measures how affordable accommodation is in a particular place. This can measured in multiple ways, the most common being housing expenditure to total expenditure ratio and the rent to income ratio. The housing expenditure ratio is a figure reported by individuals on the percentage they allocate for housing. Rent to income ratio is calculated by dividing the average monthly rent by the average income. Because these values are both percentages, we can find their average and get the best of the two worlds.

Property Taxes

Real estate owners pay property taxes to local tax authorities, which are determined by the assessed value of their property. Typically, these taxes are paid once a year. Property tax funds contribute to community development, financing infrastructure improvements, public services, and local education initiatives.

Home Maintenance Costs

Home maintenance costs encompass various expenses associated with the upkeep and repair of a residence. These expenditures include regular tasks such as lawn care, pest control, and HVAC system servicing, as well as occasional repairs and renovations like fixing leaks, painting, or replacing appliances.

Urban vs. rural living costs

Urban living typically entails higher housing and transportation costs due to demand and limited space, while rural areas generally offer lower housing expenses but may have higher prices for goods and services. The differnce in rental rates between urban areas and rural areas can be as high as 300% in some cases.

Food Prices, Dining Expenses, and Grocery Costs in Taipei

Prices and cost of goods and services in Taipei

Dining out, food, and beverages costs. Price variations for common food items.

Fast food combo meal price

58 TWD

120 TWD

190 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$1.8

$3.7

$6.1

The average price of a regular combo meal at a fast food outlet or chain like McDonald's, Pizzahut, or KFC in Taipei is approximatly 120 TWD with meal cost ranging from 58 TWD to 190 TWD. The typical combo meal consists of a burger, french fries, and a drink.

Restaurant meal for one price

190 TWD

290 TWD

570 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$6.1

$9.1

$18

If you are planning to have a nice meal at a mid-range restaurant, expect to pay anywhere between 190 TWD and 570 TWD with 290 TWD being the average price of a plate for one person at a regular restaurant in Taipei.

Fine dining meal for one price

390 TWD

580 TWD

2,300 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$12

$18

$74

The price range of a meal at fine-dining restaurant is 390 TWD to 2,300 TWD with the average cost being 580 TWD for one person. This is what you would expect to pay a top-tier diner in Taipei.

Beverage prices, cappuccino, latte etc..

48 TWD

77 TWD

120 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$1.5

$2.4

$3.7

The average price of a regular beverage like cappuccino or latte at Starbucks, Costa, or similar coffee shops and cafes in Taipei is around 77 TWD. Price ranges between 48 TWD and 120 TWD depending on the type of beverage, the size, and optional add-ons.

Grocery and market costs

Large bottle of milk price

38 TWD

46 TWD

57 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$1.2

$1.5

$1.8

The average price of a large bottle of milk in Taipei is 46 TWD. The maximum what you would pay for milk is 57 TWD and the minimum being 38 TWD depending on the brand of milk and other properties.

12 eggs price

29 TWD

39 TWD

58 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$0.92

$1.2

$1.8

A dozen eggs costs around 39 TWD on average with 29 TWD and 58 TWD being the lower and upper limits respectively.

Fresh whole chicken price

65 TWD

84 TWD

120 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$2.1

$2.7

$3.8

The price range of a fresh whole chicken in Taipei is between 65 TWD and 120 TWD depending on the size of the chicken and whether it is oraganic or not. The average price is approximatly 84 TWD.

Pack of beef price

76 TWD

110 TWD

230 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$2.4

$3.6

$7.2

The price of a regular pack of beef or meat is around 110 TWD. A pack of beef contains around 1Kg or 1lb depending on packing.

Medium bag of rice price

31 TWD

43 TWD

61 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$0.99

$1.4

$1.9

A bag of rice in Taipei costs around 43 TWD on average with prices rangeing between 31 TWD and 61 TWD depending on the brand and quality.

Bag of tomatos price

12 TWD

15 TWD

29 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$0.37

$0.49

$0.92

A bag of tomatoes costs anywhere from 12 TWD to 29 TWD. A bag of tomatoes denotes 1Kg or 1lb depending on location.

Bag of apples price

21 TWD

27 TWD

44 TWD

MINIMUM

AVERAGE

MAXIMUM

$0.65

$0.86

$1.4

A bag of apples costs 27 TWD on average. A bag of apples denotes 1Kg or 1lb depending on location.

Expenditure on food and grocery for students