Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Matsudo

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsudo: $1,200 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Matsudo
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Matsudo Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Matsudo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Matsudo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Melbourne and in Matsudo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,200 in Matsudo.

Melbourne $2,821
Matsudo $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,896 in Matsudo.

Melbourne $4,235
Matsudo $1,896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,593 in Matsudo.

Melbourne $5,650
Matsudo $2,593

Living in Melbourne is roughly 135% more expensive than in Matsudo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Matsudo is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.47 ¥1,023

169.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$37.31 ¥5,895

126.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.02 ¥793

148.21%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.43 ¥542

19.83%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.10 ¥174

178.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.78 ¥124

223.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.45 ¥387

300.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.17 ¥501

170.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.44 ¥227

2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.65 ¥260

78.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.59 ¥567

-25.91%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.09 ¥330

165.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.21 ¥1,613

2.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.06 ¥957

59.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.09 ¥2,226

8.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$4.81 ¥759

-17.05%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.29 ¥361

31.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.94 ¥464

5.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.21 ¥666

14.49%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.64 ¥417

14.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.67 ¥421

-8.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.15 ¥181

113.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.76 ¥120

114.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.79 ¥599

1062.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.21 ¥981

104.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.63 ¥258

239.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.01 ¥318

160.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.53 ¥241

144.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$53.9 ¥8,521

155.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.17 ¥501

42.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.74 ¥433

-50.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$18.67 ¥2,950

63.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.04 ¥164

41.35%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

35.31%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.7K ¥2.5M

69.13%

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

$234 A$336

$130 ¥20.5K

79.92%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$21.89 ¥3,458

27.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$30.21 ¥4,772

84.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$55.9 ¥8,832

-11.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.39 ¥1,957

21.79%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$628 ¥99.3K

277.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

103.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$54.9 ¥8,670

45.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$33.28 ¥5,257

52.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$61.5 ¥9,718

96.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$71.8 ¥11.3K

81.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$456 ¥72.1K

285.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$348 ¥54.9K

299.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,160 ¥183.3K

201.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$738 ¥116.6K

237.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,559 ¥720.3K

51.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,840 ¥290.7K

250.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.25

162.22%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Matsudo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Matsudo

$348 29% 75% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Matsudo

$279 23.2% 27.4% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Matsudo

$182 15.2% 42.7% $135

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Matsudo

$134 11.2% 57.3% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Matsudo

$100 8.3% 42% $72

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Matsudo

$77 6.4% 53% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Matsudo

$81 6.7% 1.4% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $456 in Matsudo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $37.00 in Matsudo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $279 per month, with Matsudo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Matsudo

🕒 Local time

08:04 8:04 AM

06:04 6:04 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

485,803

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Between locations

Melbourne Matsudo 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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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

Melbourne vs Matsudo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matsudo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 135% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,800 in Matsudo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $456 in Matsudo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Matsudo runs roughly 155% less than in Melbourne. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $628 in Matsudo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,200 in Matsudo versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Matsudo but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Matsudo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Melbourne and Matsudo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Matsudo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.