Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Oita

For one person, living is cheaper in Oita: $1,279 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,500 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Oita
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Oita Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Oita

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,279

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Oita

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,279 in Oita.

Melbourne $2,821
Oita $1,279

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,015 in Oita.

Melbourne $4,235
Oita $2,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,750 in Oita.

Melbourne $5,650
Oita $2,750

Living in Melbourne is roughly 120% more expensive than in Oita, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Oita is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$7.34 ¥1,159

137.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$43.25 ¥6,833

95.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.83 ¥921

113.72%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.75 ¥592

9.60%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.00 ¥158

206.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.72 ¥114

250.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.76 ¥595

160.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$2.16 ¥342

296.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.55 ¥245

-4.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.86 ¥294

58.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$6.62 ¥1,046

-59.82%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.22 ¥351

149.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$18.34 ¥2,897

-42.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.23 ¥826

84.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$18.72 ¥2,957

-18.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.65 ¥577

9.32%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.84 ¥291

64.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.77 ¥438

11.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$3.30 ¥522

46.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.14 ¥338

41.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.55 ¥402

-4.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.03 ¥162

138.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.92 ¥145

77.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.80 ¥600

1059.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.13 ¥968

107.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.71 ¥270

223.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$1.84 ¥290

184.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.69 ¥267

121.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$52.2 ¥8,243

163.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.84 ¥607

17.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.09 ¥330

-34.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$17.75 ¥2,804

71.55%

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

$21.5K ¥3.4M

34.71%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.2K ¥2.7M

54.34%

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

$234 A$336

$214 ¥33.8K

9.36%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.58 ¥3,884

13.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$33.56 ¥5,302

66.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$51.4 ¥8,122

-3.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.13 ¥1,758

35.58%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$126 ¥19.9K

1778.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$12.4K ¥2.0M

142.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$48.61 ¥7,679

64.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$25.85 ¥4,083

96.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$66.3 ¥10.5K

81.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$47.05 ¥7,433

177.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$464 ¥73.3K

279.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$310 ¥49.0K

348.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,229 ¥194.2K

184.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$718 ¥113.4K

247.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,620 ¥571.9K

91.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,555 ¥245.6K

314.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.97

199.49%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Oita: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Oita

$310 24.2% 77.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Oita

$315 24.6% 18% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Oita

$272 21.3% 14.4% $46

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Oita

$151 11.8% 51.9% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Oita

$85 6.6% 50.8% $87

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Oita

$73 5.7% 55.3% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Oita

$74 5.8% 7.5% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $464 in Oita. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $43.00 in Oita for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $315 per month, with Oita cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Oita

🕒 Local time

02:00 2:00 AM

00:00 12:00 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

475,614

💱 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 Oita 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Oita

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 Oita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Oita differ by about 120% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,279 including rent). Oita is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,231 in Melbourne and $1,919 in Oita 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 $464 in Oita. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $126 in Oita. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,279 in Oita versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Oita but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Oita 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 Oita 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 Oita gentler on the wallet – expenses run 120% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.