How much does it cost to live in Kaohsiung?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,332 (NT$42,423)
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: expatlife.ai, thingsnomadsdo.com
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $593 (NT$18,898)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $1,743 (NT$55,523)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Kaohsiung rent and daily living costs run roughly 30–40% cheaper than Taipei for a comparable lifestyle, according to expat relocation guides.
- Taiwan's rental market is built around one-year unfurnished leases rather than furnished short-term stays — genuinely furnished, month-to-month listings exist mainly via Airbnb/serviced-apartment platforms and are less abundant than in Taipei, so budget extra time to search or expect to furnish a bare unit if going the local-listing (591.com.tw) route.
- English is less widely spoken in Kaohsiung than in Taipei, so having a Mandarin-speaking friend or agent help review a lease is genuinely useful, not just a nice-to-have.
- Local Taiwanese meals and night-market food are noticeably cheaper than Western-style dining — a big lever for lowering your monthly food budget if you're willing to eat mostly local.
- Kaohsiung's city-wide monthly transit pass is unusually cheap for a nomad who rides daily — it bundles the MRT, city buses, the light rail line, ferries, and the first 30 minutes of every YouBike rental into one flat fee.
- If you plan day trips to nearby Tainan or Pingtung, the Southern Taiwan TPASS (a 30-day regional pass added onto an EasyCard/iPass) covers all three cities' public transport for a modest flat fee.
- Taiwan's Digital Nomad Visitor Visa (since Jan 2025) does not enroll you in National Health Insurance, so budget for private/travel health coverage separately even if you qualify for the visa.
- A one-time extension of the 90-day visa-free stay to 180 days is only available to some nationalities (e.g. UK and Canadian passport holders) — check your own passport's terms before assuming you can stretch a visa-free stay past 90 days.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- NT$42,423
Includes 6 estimated components
1 component missing
- Lean month
- NT$18,898
Includes 4 estimated components
1 component missing
- Comfortable month
- NT$55,523
Includes 6 estimated components
1 component missing
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- No large formal digital-nomad enclave is documented in Kaohsiung, but expat/relocation guides consistently point to Xinyi/Sanmin (Central district), Zuoying (near the Kaohsiung THSR/HSR station), and Cijin Island as the areas where foreign residents and remote workers concentrate. Housing figures below are grounded in the Xinyi/Sanmin central area unless noted.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- NT$23,000
Estimated
Midpoint of ExpatLife.ai's stated NT$18,000–28,000 1BR range; no single source states this exact figure.
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- NT$18,000
Survey / cost-of-living site
ExpatLife.ai relocation guide states a 1-bedroom rent range for Kaohsiung expats of NT$18,000–28,000/month (~$580–$900); this is the low end of that stated range.
- Premium apartment
- NT$28,000
Survey / cost-of-living site
Top end of ExpatLife.ai's stated NT$18,000–28,000/month 1BR range for a 'comfortable' expat lifestyle; genuinely luxury high-rise units in central Kaohsiung may run higher but no live listing confirming that was found at the time of research.
- Private room in a shared home
- NT$9,000
Estimated
No live listing for a private room in a shared home in Kaohsiung was found at the time of research; estimated as roughly half of the budget 1BR rent figure below, consistent with typical Taiwan shared-housing discount patterns.
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- NT$8,000
Estimated
No single confirmed Kaohsiung-specific monthly grocery total was located; estimated from general Taiwan grocery price levels and the fact Kaohsiung runs slightly below the national average.
Sample prices
1L Milk
- 1L Milk
- NT$80
Estimated
General Taiwan supermarket price level estimate; no Kaohsiung-specific live listing found.
Dozen Eggs
- Dozen Eggs
- NT$70
Estimated
General Taiwan supermarket price level estimate; no Kaohsiung-specific live listing found.
1kg Rice
- 1kg Rice
- NT$60
Estimated
General Taiwan supermarket price level estimate; no Kaohsiung-specific live listing found.
1kg Tomatoes
- 1kg Tomatoes
- NT$118
Estimated
Hikersbay's Taiwan-wide 2026 figure for tomatoes is 122 TWD/kg; adjusted down ~3% to reflect Hikersbay's own note that Kaohsiung runs about 3% below the national average.
Bottled Water 1.5L (Store, Not Restaurant)
- Bottled Water 1.5L (Store, Not Restaurant)
- NT$25
Estimated
General Taiwan convenience-store price level estimate; no Kaohsiung-specific live listing found.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- NT$113
Estimated
Things Nomads Do (a nomad blog reporting on their own time in Kaohsiung) states a local meal typically costs 100–200 NTD; 150 TWD used as the midpoint of that stated range. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 150 TWD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
- High-end meal
- NT$1,500
Estimated
No confirmed Kaohsiung-specific high-end dining figure was located at the time of research; rough estimate for a fine-dining meal for one person based on general knowledge of Taiwanese city dining tiers.
- Mid-range meal
- NT$338
Estimated
No single confirmed Kaohsiung-specific mid-range restaurant figure was located at the time of research; estimated from general Taiwan mid-range dining price levels, which run noticeably higher than local Taiwanese meals per the Things Nomads Do blog. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 450 TWD reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- NT$350
Estimated
No single Kaohsiung venue published a day-pass price in the sources we checked (Second Space, a named Kaohsiung coworking space, offers a 'Day Pass' plan but does not publish the rate on its site); figure is a blended estimate based on typical Taiwan coworking day-pass pricing patterns (e.g. Taipei spaces around NT$200-300/day) adjusted slightly upward for a standalone city rate.
- Monthly hot desk
- NT$6,000
Survey / cost-of-living site
Coworker.com marketplace listing for SYNC Co-working Space in Kaohsiung (Siwei 4th Rd. location) states 'From NT$ 6000 /pp/month' for a hot desk membership.
Transport
- Single ride
- Not shown: failed a consistency check
- Monthly pass
- NT$399
Official figure
Reports the Kaohsiung city government's own announcement cutting its monthly transit pass to NT$399, covering MRT, city buses, coach services, light rail, ferries and the first 30 minutes of YouBike.
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- NT$599
Estimated
No live carrier pricing page for Kaohsiung was retrieved at the time of research; figure is an estimate based on general knowledge of typical Taiwan prepaid/postpaid unlimited-data SIM plan pricing from major carriers (Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, FarEasTone), which nationally tend to sit in the NT$399-699/month range.
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Summer school holidays (June–August) and winter holiday/Lunar New Year periods (December–February) drive material 30–80% price increases; shoulder seasons (March–May, September–November) are substantially cheaper.
Low season
- Budget
- NT$2,400
Budget Airbnb/2-star estimates (March-May, Sep-Nov); shoulder-season vacancy typically 30-40% cheaper than high
- Luxury
- NT$8,200
5-star during low season; no direct sources; proportional reduction from high-season estimate
- Premium
- NT$5,200
4-star hotels during shoulder months; no granular rates found; estimated proportionally
- Standard
- NT$3,800
3-star hotels in low season; Expedia noted shoulder months (May-June, September) as 'slightly lower' vs winter
High season
- Budget
- NT$3,600
Budget Airbnb/2-star hotel estimates (June-August); limited sourcing from Likibu aggregates and Kindness Hotels brand range
- Luxury
- NT$13,500
5-star hotels (Kaohsiung Marriott, InterContinental, TAI Urban Resort named as luxury leaders; no direct Dec-Aug quotes found)
- Premium
- NT$8,500
4-star hotels (Hotel COZZI, Hotel Nikko mentioned but no confirmed seasonal rates; estimated from momondo luxury proxy)
- Standard
- NT$5,800
3-star hotel tier; KAYAK reported $78-165 range for 3-star mid-month, uplifted for high-season peak
Low-season months
- March
- April
- May
- September
- October
- November
High-season months
- December
- January
- February
- June
- July
- August
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Kaohsiung
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.