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Money & getting around

Living in Taipei in 2026: how much does it cost per month?

Monthly living costs in Taipei in 2026: a bed in a furnished shared room, the utilities fee, a TPASS monthly pass and National Health Insurance, plus the costs you need to prepare before moving in. Every official figure comes with a source.

Seal Co-living team Updated 8 min read Translated from Chinese · 中文原文

Sunlight across the blue seats of an empty Taipei Metro carriage
Photo: Philippe Yuan / Unsplash
On this page
  1. How much does it cost to live in Taipei for a month?
  2. How much is the rent for a furnished room?
  3. How much do you pay when you move in?
  4. How much does it cost to get around Taipei?
  5. Do foreigners have to pay for National Health Insurance?
  6. What about food, phone and everyday costs?
  7. What is Taiwan's minimum wage in 2026?
  8. How do our rooms fit into a Taipei budget?
  9. Notes

In short: your fixed monthly costs = the rent for a bed in a furnished shared room (from NT$8,000 on a 12-month lease) + our utilities fee of NT$1,000 + a TPASS monthly pass at NT$1,2001. Once you enrol in National Health Insurance on your own, add NT$826 a month2. Food, phone and personal spending depend on how you live. When you move in, you need to have ready the deposit, the first month's rent, the first month's utilities fee and the one-time move-in fee of NT$1,500.

How much does it cost to live in Taipei for a month?

Here are two examples at Songshan House, counting only fixed monthly costs (in New Taiwan dollars). The utilities fee covers water, electricity, gas, internet and shared supplies.

Monthly Example A: 3-bed room, 12-month lease Example B: Single room, 3-month lease
Bed rent (Songshan House) The "12 months or longer" column of the price table The "30 days to under 6 months" column of the price table
Utilities fee NT$1,000 NT$1,000
TPASS monthly pass1 NT$1,200 NT$1,200
National Health Insurance (self-enrolled)32 NT$826 (after living in Taiwan for 6 months) — (not eligible yet)
Food, phone, personal spending Depends on you, see below Depends on you, see below

You'll find the monthly rent in the price table in the next section. Example B uses the price for 30 days to under 6 months. If you have a job and a work permit, your employer must enrol you in NHI from your first day at work3.

How much is the rent for a furnished room?

In our 7 houses, a bed in a furnished shared room costs from NT$8,000 (≈ US$250) a month (on a lease of 12 months or longer). A shorter lease means a somewhat higher monthly rent; the minimum lease is 30 days:

Lease length Monthly rent per bed
30 days to under 6 months Base price + NT$1,000
6 to under 12 months Base price + NT$500
12 months or longer Base price

Here is the monthly rent for every room at Songshan House, by lease length:

Room 30 days to under 6 months 6 to under 12 months 12 months or longer · Base price
A2-1 · Twin room NT$10,500≈ US$325 NT$10,000≈ US$310 NT$9,500≈ US$295
A1-1 · Single room NT$15,000≈ US$465 NT$14,500≈ US$450 NT$14,000≈ US$435
A2-3 · Twin room NT$10,500≈ US$325 NT$10,000≈ US$310 NT$9,500≈ US$295
A3 · 3-bed room NT$9,800≈ US$305 NT$9,300≈ US$290 NT$8,800≈ US$275

The monthly utilities fee of NT$1,000 covers water, electricity, gas and internet, plus shared supplies such as toilet paper, dish soap and rubbish bags. You don't need to split any bills with your housemates.

How much do you pay when you move in?

Deposit (1 month of rent) + first month's rent + first month's utilities fee + move-in fee of NT$1,500 (paid only once). For Example A (a 3-bed room at Songshan House on a 12-month lease), that is two months' rent for the 3-bed room, plus NT$1,000 and NT$1,500.

The deposit is returned at the end of the lease as set out in the contract. For a step-by-step guide to how the lease and the deposit work, see Common sticking points for foreigners renting in Taipei: agent's fees, deposits, lease language, ARC address registration, and how Seal Co-living handles them.

How much does it cost to get around Taipei?

  • Single-journey MRT ticket: NT$20–65 per ride4.
  • Frequent rider rebate: From 3 January 2026, when you pay the full fare with an EasyCard or another e-ticket, Taipei Metro gives you money back based on how many rides you took in the previous month: 5% for 11–20 rides, 10% for 21–40 rides and 15% for 41 rides or more5.
  • TPASS monthly pass (基北北桃都會通): NT$1,200, valid for 30 consecutive days from the first use. It covers Taipei Metro, New Taipei Metro, Taoyuan Airport MRT, city buses in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan, and some Taiwan Railway sections1. If you ride once each way every working day (about 44 rides a month), the pass pays off when your average single fare, after the 15% rebate, is more than about NT$32.
  • Taipei City YouBike 2.0: The first 30 minutes are free for registered members (subsidised by Taipei City Government since 28 February 2024). After that, it costs NT$10 per 30 minutes within 4 hours, NT$20 per 30 minutes from 4 to 8 hours, and NT$40 per 30 minutes after 8 hours6.

To see which YouBike and MRT stations are near Songshan House, check Living around Songshan House (data from OpenStreetMap).

Do foreigners have to pay for National Health Insurance?

Yes. If you are eligible, you must join National Health Insurance (NHI):

  • If you have a job and a work permit: your employer enrols you from the day you start work3.
  • Other ARC (Alien Resident Certificate) holders: you must enrol once you have lived in Taiwan for 6 months. During that time you may leave the country once, for no more than 30 days, and the days abroad are deducted3.
  • Enrolling on your own: if you have no employer and can't be covered as a dependant of a family member, you enrol through a district office. The premium is NT$826 per person per month27.

NT$826 has applied since 1 January 2021 (announced by the NHI Administration; the Nangang District Office confirms the same amount)27. Until you are covered, you may want to buy private medical insurance.

What about food, phone and everyday costs?

These vary a lot with each person's lifestyle, so we don't give a single figure. For a sense of proportion: in Taipei City's 2025 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, food and non-alcoholic beverages made up 14.79% of household consumption spending, and eating out and other food services made up 14.16% (this is our simplified wording; the official category name is 「餐廳及住宿」, "restaurants and accommodation", which also includes accommodation spending). Housing-related spending, such as housing services, water, electricity and gas, made up 28.12%8.

Every one of our houses has a shared kitchen where you can cook. You can also find supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants near Songshan House on Living around Songshan House.

Rubbish: since 1 July 2000, Taipei City has charged its rubbish fee through the bags themselves, so household rubbish must go in official rubbish bags. Sorted recycling and food waste are collected for free9. In our houses, rubbish bags are included in the utilities fee.

What is Taiwan's minimum wage in 2026?

From 1 January 2026, Taiwan's monthly minimum wage is NT$29,500 and the hourly minimum wage is NT$19610. If you are coming to Taiwan on a working holiday visa, you can put the fixed monthly costs above next to the minimum wage and work it out.

How do our rooms fit into a Taipei budget?

All 7 houses follow the same rules: prices are per bed per month, the utilities fee is NT$1,000, the deposit is 1 month of rent, the one-time move-in fee is NT$1,500, and the minimum lease is 30 days. Highlights and neighbourhood life for each house:

  • Guangci House · Xinyi District · about 6 min walk to Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station · from NT$9,000 (≈ US$280) per bed per month · Twin room, 3-bed room, and 4-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • Houshanpi House · Nangang District · about 6 min walk to Houshanpi Station · from NT$8,000 (≈ US$250) per bed per month · Single room, Twin room, 3-bed room, and 4-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • Kunyang House · Nangang District · about 2 min walk to Kunyang Station · from NT$8,000 (≈ US$250) per bed per month · Single room, 3-bed room, and 4-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • Songlong House · Xinyi District · about 4 min walk to Songshan Station · from NT$8,300 (≈ US$260) per bed per month · Twin room, 3-bed room, and 4-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • CityHall House · Xinyi District · about 2 min walk to Taipei City Hall Station · from NT$9,500 (≈ US$295) per bed per month · 4-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • Songshan House · Nangang District · about 4 min walk to Houshanpi Station · from NT$8,800 (≈ US$275) per bed per month · Single room, Twin room, and 3-bed room (Neighbourhood)
  • Gongguan House · Zhongzheng District · about 3 min walk to Gongguan Station · from NT$8,300 (≈ US$260) per bed per month · Single room, 3-bed room, 4-bed room, and 6-bed room (Neighbourhood)

Want to know what you would actually pay for your dates? Tell us your move-in date and how long you'd like to rent, and we'll work out the full cost for you. You can write to us in Chinese, English, Japanese or Korean, and we reply in the same language. Book a viewing, or ask us on LINE (add us as a LINE friend).

Notes

  1. EasyCard Corporation, "基北北桃都會通 (TPASS)" https://www.easycard.com.tw/easycard?cls=1682492497&id=1683186954, checked 2026-10-05. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, "Premiums for Category 6 regional insured persons" (from 1 January 2021) https://www.nhi.gov.tw/ch/cp-5719-69026-2584-1.html; the same amount is given in the Nangang District Office (Taipei City) FAQ, checked 2026-10-05. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Enrollment Qualifications (PDF) https://www.nhi.gov.tw/en/dl-22-7514e9b62d4442509518975822702ff7-2.pdf, checked 2026-10-05. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, "Single-journey ticket" fares NT$20–65 https://www.metro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=CEF54168B23F73B4&s=AD70DC4F6A708EA7, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

  5. Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, "Frequent rider discount" (from 3 January 2026) https://www.metro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=AB56163F79ECB2C2, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

  6. YouBike, "Taipei City YouBike 2.0/2.0E fares" https://www.youbike.com.tw/region/taipei/rate/, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

  7. Nangang District Office (Taipei City) FAQ: the premium when you enrol in NHI at the district office (2021-10-01) https://ngdo.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=DFDD2EB15C7EB5BB&sms=9F24FB5ACABA9F88&s=8B310B63F0FC8DEF, checked 2026-10-05. ↩ ↩2

  8. Department of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Taipei City Government, "Family Income and Expenditure Survey" (2025 results) https://dbas.gov.taipei/cp.aspx?n=2757E651BE951667, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

  9. Department of Environmental Protection, Taipei City Government, FAQ "Why is the rubbish fee collected through bags?" https://www.dep.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=ACEFA960B5A4ACD7&s=63FEA0A6E11ECA67, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

  10. Ministry of Labor, "Minimum wage from 1 January 2026" https://www.mol.gov.tw/1607/1632/1633/84947/post, checked 2026-10-05. ↩

Approximate conversions use the Bank of Taiwan rate on 14 Oct 2026. You pay in Taiwan dollars.

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Seal Co-living

Make Taipei home.

7 furnished shared houses. From NT$8,000 per bed per month on a 12-month lease, minimum lease 30 days.1

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