Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Japan

Name: Japan
Address: JP

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.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Japan
Learn more

Japan Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,332

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Melbourne is 56.3% more expensive than Japan without rent, and 114.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Melbourne is 61.8% more expensive than Japan without rent, and 114.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$6.27 ¥993

183.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$32.23 ¥5,101

163.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.08 ¥805

139.37%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.11 ¥492

26.37%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$1.12 ¥178

180.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.74 ¥117

228.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$3.25 ¥515

204.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.73 ¥590

122.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.49 ¥236

4.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.45 ¥229

107.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$4.94 ¥782

-41.70%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$2.11 ¥333

157.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$11.44 ¥1,810

-7.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$6.32 ¥1,000

52.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$17.80 ¥2,817

-15.79%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$4.80 ¥760

-13.54%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$2.45 ¥388

24.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$4.29 ¥680

-23.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$4.52 ¥715

5.31%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$2.70 ¥428

12.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.70 ¥427

-5.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$1.34 ¥211

85.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.89 ¥140

83.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.88 ¥614

1035.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$7.49 ¥1,186

65.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.90 ¥301

180.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.62 ¥415

96.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$1.36 ¥215

182.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$57.6 ¥9,122

145.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$3.66 ¥578

20.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$3.16 ¥499

-55.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$20.05 ¥3,174

48.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.07 ¥170

36.45%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

29.79%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$16.1K ¥2.5M

61.12%

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

$233 A$333

$156 ¥24.7K

49.13%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$24.21 ¥3,831

12.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$32.72 ¥5,178

74.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$52.6 ¥8,326

0.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$17.92 ¥2,836

26.23%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$12.84 ¥2,032

33.18%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$544 ¥86.2K

335.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$12.0K ¥1.9M

153.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$46.82 ¥7,409

67.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$29.43 ¥4,657

71.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$61.8 ¥9,774

95.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$78.2 ¥12.4K

70.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$569 ¥90.1K

200.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$390 ¥61.7K

259.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$1,310 ¥207.4K

154.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$770 ¥121.8K

228.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$5,494 ¥869.3K

27.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$2,810 ¥444.6K

140.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$2,077 ¥328.7K

103.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.13

177.00%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Japan: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Japan

$390 29.8% 72.2% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Japan

$315 24% 18.3% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Japan

$213 16.3% 32.8% $104

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Japan

$134 10.2% 57.3% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Japan

$97 7.4% 43.5% $75

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Japan

$83 6.3% 51% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Japan

$78 6% 9.9% $8.6

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Japan

🕒 Local time

15:57 3:57 PM

13:57 1:57 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

125,440,000

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

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).

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).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Japan 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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Japan

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.

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