EasyCard vs iPASS vs TPASS vs Taipei Fun Pass: Which One Do You Actually Need?

By Kevin · Last verified: 2026-07-11 · 7 min read

The short answer

Get an EasyCard. That’s the answer for 95% of visitors — NT$100 for the card, load some cash, tap everything. The passes only pay off in specific situations: the joint airport+metro tickets if you’re metro-heavy in Taipei for 2-3 days, the Fun Pass if you’re riding tourist shuttles to Jiufen or Yehliu, and TPASS only for stays of 10+ days. And since July 2026 you can tap a regular contactless credit card on both the Airport MRT and the Taipei MRT, so even “buy a card immediately” is now optional.

Taiwan’s ticketing has a card, another card that’s the same card, a monthly pass, three flavors of tourist pass, and a stack of day passes. Travelers ask about this in genuinely tangled form — “should I buy the Easy pass or the fun pass or the HSR unli?” — so here’s the whole zoo, untangled with 2026 prices.

The 60-second decision

You are…	Get
A normal visitor	EasyCard, load NT$500, done
In Taipei 2-3 days, riding the metro a lot	Joint Airport MRT + metro ticket (below)
Doing tourist-shuttle day trips (Jiufen, Yehliu, Sun Moon Lake)	Fun Pass Transportation, maybe
Hitting lots of paid attractions fast	Fun Pass Unlimited, do the math first
Staying 10+ days in the north	TPASS on your EasyCard
Wondering about iPASS	It’s EasyCard with a different logo. Either is fine

EasyCard: the default answer

The card costs NT$100 (about US$3, non-refundable — that’s the card price, not a deposit), and you load cash on top. Then it works on practically everything that moves: every metro system in the country, city buses island-wide, YouBike, ferries, and regular TRA trains (non-reserved services, with a 10% discount on trips under 70km). Plus the part that makes it feel like magic: it’s a tap-to-pay wallet at every 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, supermarket chain and most drugstores.

Buy it at any metro station counter or convenience store — including the ones in the airport basement, covered in our airport guide. Top-ups are cash only, everywhere, in NT$100 increments.

Two myths to clear up, since old guides keep repeating them:

The 20% MRT discount is dead. EasyCard fares on the Taipei MRT have been the same as single-ticket prices since February 2020. You get convenience, not a discount.
There’s no EasyCard in Apple Wallet. Still true in 2026. Samsung Wallet has it; iPhone users carry the plastic — or skip it, see the next section.

Leaving Taiwan? You can refund the remaining balance at any metro info counter (NT$20 fee for short visits), or just spend it down at a convenience store. The card doesn’t expire, so keeping it for a return trip is the lazy-smart move.

The July 2026 change: your credit card is now a transit card

Since July 1, 2026, the Taipei MRT accepts international contactless credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, JCB) and phone wallets directly at the gates — the Airport MRT has taken them for years. Apple Pay works in Express Mode, meaning no unlocking, and it even works with a dead-ish battery.

So an iPhone user in 2026 can ride the Airport MRT and the entire Taipei MRT with nothing but their phone. Where you still want the physical EasyCard: buses, TRA trains, YouBike, and store purchases. For a Taipei-only city break, you could genuinely skip the card now — that’s new, and most guides haven’t caught up.

The Taipei Metro day passes

Sold at station counters: 1-day NT$150, 24hr NT$180, 48hr NT$280, 72hr NT$380. Metro only — no buses.

The math: MRT rides cost NT$20-65, so the NT$150 day pass needs about five rides to break even. That’s a genuinely packed sightseeing day. Most people ride 3-4 times a day and would lose money. Buy it for your one museum-marathon day, not for the whole trip.

Taipei Fun Pass: two very different products

Fun Pass Transportation (NT$210 / 340 / 470 / 730 for 1/2/3/5 days) adds city buses and 5-6 Tourist Shuttle routes to the metro. The shuttles are the whole point: the Jiufen-area shuttle runs about NT$90-100 each way, so one proper day-trip day roughly justifies the pass by itself. If your plan is temples-and-night-markets in the city, skip it. Note what it does NOT cover: the Airport MRT, regular TRA trains, and the Tamsui light rail.

Fun Pass Unlimited bundles attractions — Taipei 101’s observatory, the Maokong Gondola, a Pingxi line day pass and dozens more — at NT$1,300 for one day, up to NT$1,800-2,000 for three (pricing differs between the official site and resellers; check at purchase). Break-even needs roughly NT$600-670 of attractions per day. Taipei 101 alone is ~NT$600, so a 101-plus-gondola-plus-museum day clears it. A “wander and eat” day doesn’t come close. There’s also a new child edition (ages 6-11) — relevant because foreign kids get no other Taipei MRT discount.

TPASS: the one for long stays

TPASS is a NT$1,200, 30-day unlimited pass for the whole northern megazone — Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan — loaded onto any regular EasyCard, no ID required. It covers something the Fun Pass doesn’t: the Airport MRT, plus TRA trains in the zone, intercity buses and YouBike.

Break-even is NT$40/day over the full month, but a tourist buying it for a shorter stay needs to beat NT$1,200 total. A 7-day visitor would have to average NT$170/day of transit — possible with an airport round trip plus heavy daily riding, but tight. From about 10 days up, especially with Keelung/Taoyuan day trips, it starts winning comfortably.

The sleeper deal: joint airport + metro tickets

Sold only at the Airport MRT’s A1 (Taipei Main), A12 and A13 (airport) stations: an Airport MRT round trip bundled with unlimited Taipei Metro — 48hr for NT$520 or 72hr for NT$600. The airport round trip alone is NT$320, so you’re getting 2-3 days of unlimited metro for NT$200-280. For a short, metro-heavy Taipei trip, this quietly beats everything else on this page.

Kids and seniors, honestly

Under 6 (and under 115cm): free on basically everything with a paying adult.
Foreign kids 6-11: no discount on the Taipei MRT — the student cards are for local students. TRA and HSR sell half-fare child tickets at counters with a passport. The Fun Pass child edition is the main kid-priced product.
Foreign seniors 65+: also no discount — Taiwan’s senior half-fares require local ID. Budget full fare and treat any exception as a bonus.

FAQ

Do I need to buy an EasyCard before arriving in Taiwan?

No. Buy it in five minutes at the airport MRT counter, a vending machine, or any convenience store — including the 24-hour ones in the airport basement if you land late.

Is the Taipei Fun Pass worth it?

The Transportation version: only if tourist shuttles (Jiufen, Yehliu) are in your plan — one shuttle day trip roughly pays for it. The Unlimited version: only if you’ll do NT$600+ of paid attractions per day. For most visitors the honest answer is no — EasyCard plus paying as you go wins.

EasyCard or iPASS — does it matter?

Not for a visitor. They’re rival brands with near-identical coverage. Buy whichever counter you’re standing near; in Kaohsiung you’ll see more iPASS, in Taipei more EasyCard.

Can I use my credit card on the Taipei MRT now?

Yes — since July 1, 2026, contactless Visa/Mastercard/JCB and phone wallets tap directly at the gates, fare same as a single ticket. Buses and TRA still want an EasyCard or cash.

Can I get my EasyCard money back when I leave?

The balance, yes — at any metro info counter, minus a NT$20 fee on short visits. The NT$100 card price itself is never refunded, so either keep the card for next time or drink your balance at 7-Eleven like a local.