Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Matsuyama

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsuyama: $1,324 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,000 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Matsuyama
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Matsuyama Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Matsuyama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,324

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Matsuyama

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 Matsuyama actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,821 per month in Melbourne vs $1,324 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Melbourne $2,821
Matsuyama $1,324

A couple spends around $4,235 per month in Melbourne vs $2,006 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Melbourne $4,235
Matsuyama $2,006

A family of three spends $5,650 per month in Melbourne vs $2,689 in Matsuyama, rent included.

Melbourne $5,650
Matsuyama $2,689

Melbourne costs about 113% more than Matsuyama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Melbourne sits 109% above the global median, while Matsuyama is 2% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.39 ¥1,010

172.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.11 ¥4,915

171.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.96 ¥784

151.21%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.32 ¥367

77.16%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.17 ¥185

161.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.61 ¥97.0

313.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.00 ¥316

390.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.28 ¥361

275.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.55 ¥245

-4.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.27 ¥201

131.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$5.49 ¥868

-51.55%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.08 ¥329

166.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$12.39 ¥1,957

-15.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$9.30 ¥1,470

3.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$31.67 ¥5,003

-51.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.65 ¥576

9.32%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.35 ¥371

28.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$6.48 ¥1,024

-52.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.23 ¥668

13.95%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.86 ¥610

-21.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$3.39 ¥536

-28.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.25 ¥197

96.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.96 ¥152

69.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.51 ¥555

1155.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$8.33 ¥1,317

52.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.95 ¥309

184.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.52 ¥239

244.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.70 ¥268

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$49.46 ¥7,815

178.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.08 ¥486

46.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$3.08 ¥487

-55.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$26.94 ¥4,257

13.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.05 ¥167

40.00%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$19.8K ¥3.1M

46.25%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$16.6K ¥2.6M

59.16%

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

$234 A$336

$143 ¥22.5K

63.78%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.10 ¥3,808

15.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$43.52 ¥6,876

28.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$58.8 ¥9,293

-16.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.60 ¥1,990

19.76%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$327 ¥51.7K

624.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$6,187 ¥977.5K

388.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$48.97 ¥7,737

63.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$24.93 ¥3,938

103.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$46.50 ¥7,347

159.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$66.1 ¥10.4K

97.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$534 ¥84.4K

229.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$374 ¥59.1K

271.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,186 ¥187.3K

194.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$654 ¥103.3K

281.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,764 ¥752.6K

45.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,942 ¥306.8K

231.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.28

158.77%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Matsuyama: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Matsuyama

$374 28.3% 73.1% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Matsuyama

$381 28.8% 0.8% $3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Matsuyama

$210 15.9% 33.7% $107

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Matsuyama

$116 8.7% 63.3% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Matsuyama

$84 6.3% 51.1% $88

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Matsuyama

$75 5.7% 54.4% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Matsuyama

$84 6.4% 5.6% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,759 in Melbourne versus $534 in Matsuyama. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Melbourne versus $31.00 in Matsuyama. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $384 vs $381 – making Matsuyama the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Matsuyama

🕒 Local time

22:50 10:50 PM

20:50 8:50 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

511,192

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Matsuyama 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Matsuyama

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 Matsuyama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne, $1,324 in Matsuyama – roughly 113% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,231 per month in Melbourne and $1,985 in Matsuyama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matsuyama, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 178% less in Matsuyama. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,371 per month in Melbourne and $327 in Matsuyama. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Matsuyama, where all-in costs run around $1,324, than in Melbourne at $2,821. In Matsuyama it covers expenses comfortably, while in Melbourne it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matsuyama – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Matsuyama. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Melbourne makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.