Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Nagano

For one person, living is cheaper in Nagano: $1,180 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Nagano
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Nagano Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Nagano

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,180

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Nagano

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,180 in Nagano.

Melbourne $2,821
Nagano $1,180

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,942 in Nagano.

Melbourne $4,235
Nagano $1,942

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,705 in Nagano.

Melbourne $5,650
Nagano $2,705

Living in Melbourne is roughly 139% more expensive than in Nagano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Nagano is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.27 ¥991

177.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$40.83 ¥6,451

107.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.94 ¥781

152.23%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.37 ¥533

21.96%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.06 ¥167

188.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.75 ¥119

236.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.46 ¥388

298.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.09 ¥488

177.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.37 ¥216

8.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.70 ¥269

72.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.73 ¥589

-28.69%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.99 ¥314

178.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.18 ¥1,608

3.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.08 ¥961

58.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.50 ¥2,290

4.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.78 ¥913

-30.97%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.84 ¥448

6.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.88 ¥455

7.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.07 ¥643

18.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.52 ¥398

20.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.63 ¥415

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.27 ¥201

93.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.80 ¥126

103.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.81 ¥602

1056.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.43 ¥1,015

97.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.73 ¥274

220.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.11 ¥333

147.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.62 ¥256

130.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$50.6 ¥7,987

171.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.12 ¥493

44.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.64 ¥417

-48.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.77 ¥3,281

46.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.07 ¥169

37.38%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

35.22%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.2K ¥2.9M

45.42%

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

$234 A$336

$130 ¥20.5K

79.68%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.11 ¥3,810

15.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$12.46 ¥1,969

347.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$52.9 ¥8,361

-6.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$12.36 ¥1,953

22.09%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$640 ¥101.1K

270.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.8K ¥2.3M

104.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$62.8 ¥9,924

27.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$36.95 ¥5,838

37.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$61.3 ¥9,685

96.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$104 ¥16.4K

25.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$504 ¥79.7K

248.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$323 ¥51.1K

330.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,231 ¥194.6K

183.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$797 ¥126.0K

212.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,473 ¥706.8K

54.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,575 ¥248.9K

309.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$622 ¥98.3K

604.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.64

123.48%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nagano: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Nagano

$323 27.4% 76.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Nagano

$289 24.5% 24.7% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Nagano

$167 14.1% 47.5% $151

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Nagano

$131 11.1% 58.3% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Nagano

$119 10.1% 30.5% $52

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Nagano

$73 6.2% 55.2% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Nagano

$78 6.6% 2.4% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $504 in Nagano. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 604% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $41.00 in Nagano for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $289 per month, with Nagano cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Nagano

🕒 Local time

01:59 1:59 AM

23:59 11:59 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

372,760

💱 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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Melbourne Nagano 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Nagano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Nagano differ by about 139% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,180 including rent). Nagano is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 604% higher in Melbourne, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $504 in Nagano. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $640 in Nagano. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,180 in Nagano versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nagano but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Nagano 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 Nagano 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 Nagano gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.