How Taipei and Kuala Lumpur compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
The short answer
Taipei Pick it for more comfortable months.
Kuala Lumpur Doesn't win on any measure here. See who it suits, below.
Everyday costsEven
What we have checked of rent, a coworking desk, weekday lunches and getting around comes to $553 to $705 (£415 to £529) a month in Taipei, against $465 to $1,030 (£349 to £773) in Kuala Lumpur. We can't call it: Taipei has no checked figure for a desk and Kuala Lumpur has no checked figure for lunch and transport, so both totals leave them out.
The visaEven
It depends which figure applies to you. Taipei: Digital Nomad Visitor Visa, about $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age). Kuala Lumpur: DE Rantau Nomad Pass, about $2,000 to $5,000 a month (USD 24,000 a year, depending on the job).
A London 9 to 5Even
A late finish in both: 16:00 to 00:00 in Taipei, 16:00 to 00:00 in Kuala Lumpur.
A New York 9 to 5Even
A night shift in both: 21:00 to 05:00 in Taipei, 21:00 to 05:00 in Kuala Lumpur.
WeatherTaipei
Taipei has more comfortable months. Comfortable months on our best-time rule: 6 in Taipei, none in Kuala Lumpur. No month is comfortable in both.
SafetyEven
The US State Department puts both countries at level 1. Watch for typhoons, earthquakes and drug and vape laws in Taipei; bag snatching and card fraud in Kuala Lumpur.
Side by side
Measure
Taipei
Kuala Lumpur
Country
Taiwan
Malaysia
Language
Mandarin. Taiwan has no legally designated official language: Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka and Indigenous languages are all national languages
Malay
Currency
New Taiwan dollar (TWD, written NT$)
Malaysian ringgit (MYR, written RM)
Plugs
Type A and B, 110V. Type A is more common
Type G, 230V
Time zone
UTC+8 today
UTC+8 today
A month's basics
$553 to $705 (£415 to £529), with a desk missing
$465 to $1,030 (£349 to £773), with lunch and transport missing
Remote work visa
Digital Nomad Visitor Visa
DE Rantau Nomad Pass
Income needed
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age)
About $2,000 to $5,000 a month (USD 24,000 a year, depending on the job)
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
British and American passports: 90 days
Tax residency
183 days or more in a calendar year, or a domicile in Taiwan where you habitually live
182 days or more in a calendar year. Work done there is taxable after 60 days
Download speed
271 Mbps
—
Comfortable months
January, February, March, April, November and December
None on our rule
US travel advice
Level 1: normal precautions
Level 1: normal precautions
Meetups
1 regular group still running
4 regular groups still running
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
What a month costs
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
Taipei
$553 to $705£415 to £529 a month
Rent
$462 to $600Median studio rent, citywide up to Neihu, first half of 2026. Not known whether furnished. TWD 15,000 to 19,500
A desk
No checked figureNo monthly coworking price on an operator's own site: Regus and Spaces price only by the day, from NT$276 a day for unlimited access (on a 24-month contract at Regus), or NT$680 for a day pass
Weekday lunches
$54 to $68Biandang, the lunch box: a Taiwan Railway bento, January 2025, TWD 80 to 100 each, 22 working days
Getting around
$37TPASS commuter pass, 30 days of unlimited metro, buses, Taiwan Railway, highway buses, light rail and YouBike across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. TWD 1,200
About $1,670 to $3,330 a month (USD 20,000 a year, depending on your age); in pounds, about £1,250 to £2,500 a month
How long
Six months, extendable six months at a time to two years in all
What it leads to
Not shown to lead anywhere: it is a visitor visa. The National Development Council's FAQ says holders "can apply to convert to long-term residence" but gives no route. Permanent residence runs through the Employment Gold Card, after three years
Without a visa
British passports: 90 days, extendable to 180 (British Citizen passports only). American: 90 days, not extendable
The catch. The bar is USD 20,000 a year if you are 20 to 29 and USD 40,000 if you are 30 or over, and there is no income band for under-20s. Income alone is not enough: you also need a bank balance averaging USD 10,000 a month over the last six months. And it stops at two years, with no longer stay until the law changes.
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
Who each one suits
From each city guide, word for word.
Taipei
It suits
A remote employee or freelancer earning USD 40,000 or more (USD 20,000 if under 30) who has USD 10,000 sitting in the bank and wants up to two years somewhere with very low crime. The UK government calls crime "extremely low". Home fibre has a median of about 270 Mbps, and a NT$1,200 pass covers metro and buses across Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan. British passport holders in particular can try it for up to 180 days with no visa at all.
It doesn't suit
Anyone who wilts in heat: July averages a 35 degree daily high, and typhoons are possible from May to November. Anyone who vapes: e-cigarettes are banned. Anyone hoping the nomad visa leads somewhere: it is a visitor visa capped at two years, and the government itself says longer stays need a change in the law. Permanent residence runs through the Gold Card instead. And anyone wanting a cheap Asian base: a studio in the districts you would choose has a median of NT$18,000 to 19,500 a month, and the average in Xinyi is over NT$31,000.
Tech freelancers and remote employees earning USD 24,000 a year or more who want a legal, cheap, one-to-two-year base in a big city. The pass costs RM 1,080, plus RM 360 a year. You can live in a furnished one-bed in Bangsar or Bukit Bintang for about RM 2,100 to 2,400 a month, rent a hot desk for RM 400 to 700, and live by the rail line without a car.
It doesn't suit
Non-tech workers earning under USD 60,000 or outside MDEC's listed roles, anyone who wants the time to count towards permanent residence, and anyone hoping the pass keeps them out of tax: MDEC's own FAQ treats remote work as taxable from day 61. People with asthma in a haze year, between June and October. LGBT+ couples who want to live openly, because same-sex acts are illegal under federal law. And anyone choosing Mont Kiara without a car, who will spend every day in a Grab in traffic. And budget for moving in: about RM 8,800 up front on a RM 2,000 flat.
