Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Japan and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Japan: $1,332 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Japan
Learn more

Japan Living Index
137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,332

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Japan is 36% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 53.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Japan is 38.2% cheaper than Melbourne without rent, and 53.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.27 ¥993

$17.75 A$25.40

-64.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.23 ¥5,101

$84.8 A$121

-62.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.08 ¥805

$12.16 A$17.40

-58.22%

Cappuccino

$3.11 ¥492

$3.93 A$5.62

-20.87%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 ¥178

$3.14 A$4.49

-64.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥117

$2.43 A$3.47

-69.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 ¥515

$9.90 A$14.17

-67.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ¥590

$8.29 A$11.86

-55.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ¥236

$1.55 A$2.21

-3.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ¥229

$3.01 A$4.31

-51.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.94 ¥782

$2.88 A$4.12

71.53%

Eggs

$2.11 ¥333

$5.44 A$7.79

-61.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.44 ¥1,810

$10.59 A$15.16

8.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.32 ¥1,000

$9.61 A$13.76

-34.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.80 ¥2,817

$14.99 A$21.46

18.75%

Apples (1kg)

$4.80 ¥760

$4.15 A$5.94

15.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.45 ¥388

$3.05 A$4.37

-19.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.29 ¥680

$3.30 A$4.72

30.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.52 ¥715

$4.76 A$6.81

-5.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.70 ¥428

$3.04 A$4.34

-11.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.70 ¥427

$2.55 A$3.65

5.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 ¥211

$2.48 A$3.55

-45.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 ¥140

$1.63 A$2.33

-45.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.88 ¥614

$44.07 A$63.1

-91.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.49 ¥1,186

$12.43 A$17.79

-39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 ¥301

$5.33 A$7.63

-64.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 ¥415

$5.16 A$7.38

-49.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 ¥215

$3.84 A$5.50

-64.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$57.6 ¥9,122

$142 A$203

-59.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.66 ¥578

$4.40 A$6.29

-16.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.16 ¥499

$1.40 A$2.01

125.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.05 ¥3,174

$29.83 A$42.69

-32.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥170

$1.46 A$2.09

-26.71%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.7K ¥3.4M

$28.1K A$40.3K

-22.95%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$16.1K ¥2.5M

$25.9K A$37.1K

-37.93%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$156 ¥24.7K

$233 A$333

-32.95%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$24.21 ¥3,831

$27.28 A$39.04

-11.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.72 ¥5,178

$57.0 A$81.6

-42.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.6 ¥8,326

$52.7 A$75.4

-0.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.92 ¥2,836

$22.62 A$32.37

-20.78%

Cinema Ticket

$12.84 ¥2,032

$17.10 A$24.48

-24.91%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$544 ¥86.2K

$2,373 A$3,397

-77.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ¥1.9M

$30.5K A$43.6K

-60.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.82 ¥7,409

$78.2 A$112

-40.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.43 ¥4,657

$50.5 A$72.2

-41.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.8 ¥9,774

$121 A$172

-48.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 ¥12.4K

$133 A$191

-41.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$569 ¥90.1K

$1,713 A$2,451

-66.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 ¥61.7K

$1,402 A$2,006

-72.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,310 ¥207.4K

$3,339 A$4,778

-60.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 ¥121.8K

$2,529 A$3,619

-69.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,494 ¥869.3K

$7,018 A$10.0K

-21.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,810 ¥444.6K

$6,767 A$9,685

-58.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,077 ¥328.7K

$4,228 A$6,051

-50.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.13

5.9

-63.90%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Japan: October 5, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Japan

$390 29.8%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 259% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Japan

$315 24%

Melbourne

$385 13.5% 22.5% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Japan

$213 16.3%

Melbourne

$317 11.1% 48.9% $104

Eating Out

Japan

$134 10.2%

Melbourne

$314 11% 135% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Japan

$97 7.4%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 76.8% $75

Getting Around

Japan

$83 6.3%

Melbourne

$168 5.9% 104% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Japan

$78 6%

Melbourne

$87 3.1% 11% $8.6

Good to know

🇯🇵 Japan

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:58 12:58 PM

14:58 2:58 PM

2 h ahead of Japan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

125,440,000

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Japan Melbourne 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Japan
Melbourne

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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Cost of Living Comparison Between Japan and Melbourne

AUD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Japan

Melbourne

Japan

Melbourne

Japan vs other spots: cost of living compared

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