Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Obihiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Obihiro: $1,213 a month against $2,853 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Obihiro
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Obihiro Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Obihiro

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,213

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Obihiro

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,213 in Obihiro.

Melbourne $2,853
Obihiro $1,213

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,909 in Obihiro.

Melbourne $4,275
Obihiro $1,909

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,605 in Obihiro.

Melbourne $5,697
Obihiro $2,605

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Obihiro is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$7.85 ¥1,241

119.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$31.69 ¥5,007

162.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$5.09 ¥804

144.20%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.01 ¥475

34.55%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$1.20 ¥189

160.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.63 ¥257

50.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$2.67 ¥421

256.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.07 ¥485

165.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.52 ¥239

2.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.54 ¥243

88.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.25 ¥672

-37.41%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.08 ¥329

158.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$10.14 ¥1,602

5.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$6.60 ¥1,043

49.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$16.76 ¥2,648

-8.35%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$3.67 ¥580

13.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.36 ¥373

33.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$2.92 ¥462

11.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$4.28 ¥677

11.21%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$2.48 ¥392

23.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.45 ¥387

0.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.28 ¥202

91.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.80 ¥126

103.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.84 ¥607

1076.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$6.64 ¥1,050

90.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.88 ¥297

202.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.16 ¥341

142.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.44 ¥228

168.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$52.6 ¥8,309

169.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$3.07 ¥485

47.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$2.80 ¥442

-49.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$18.38 ¥2,904

66.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.10 ¥175

33.64%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$21.2K ¥3.3M

36.45%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

73.44%

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

$235 A$338

$134 ¥21.2K

75.38%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$24.54 ¥3,877

11.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$30.44 ¥4,809

84.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$52.4 ¥8,280

-4.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$12.14 ¥1,918

46.29%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$514 ¥81.2K

364.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$12.7K ¥2.0M

133.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$49.05 ¥7,750

61.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$31.43 ¥4,966

57.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$61.4 ¥9,700

92.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$88.1 ¥13.9K

50.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$527 ¥83.3K

234.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$334 ¥52.7K

322.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$1,122 ¥177.2K

214.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$729 ¥115.1K

246.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$4,177 ¥660.0K

70.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,784 ¥281.9K

256.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.21

166.97%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Obihiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Obihiro

$334 27.5% 76.4% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Obihiro

$289 23.9% 25.5% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Obihiro

$189 15.6% 40.7% $130

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Obihiro

$145 12% 53.2% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Obihiro

$103 8.5% 39.4% $67

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Obihiro

$75 6.2% 55.4% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Obihiro

$77 6.3% 10.4% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $527 in Obihiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $32.00 in Obihiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $289 per month, with Obihiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Obihiro

🕒 Local time

01:15 1:15 AM

23:15 11:15 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

166,536

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Obihiro 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Obihiro

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 Obihiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Obihiro differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,213 including rent). Obihiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,280 in Melbourne and $1,819 in Obihiro 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $527 in Obihiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $514 in Obihiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,213 in Obihiro versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Obihiro but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Obihiro 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 Obihiro 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 Obihiro 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.