Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Okinawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Okinawa: $1,399 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Okinawa
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Okinawa Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Okinawa

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Okinawa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,399 in Okinawa.

Melbourne $2,852
Okinawa $1,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $2,189 in Okinawa.

Melbourne $4,297
Okinawa $2,189

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,979 in Okinawa.

Melbourne $5,742
Okinawa $2,979

Living in Melbourne is roughly 104% more expensive than in Okinawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 113% above, Okinawa 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$10.13 ¥1,602

75.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$39.78 ¥6,288

113.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$7.04 ¥1,112

72.73%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$4.26 ¥674

-7.75%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$1.47 ¥233

113.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$1.00 ¥158

143.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$2.01 ¥318

392.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$4.55 ¥719

82.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.64 ¥258

-5.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$2.15 ¥340

40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$3.84 ¥606

-25.00%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$1.75 ¥277

210.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$17.94 ¥2,835

-40.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$4.87 ¥770

97.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

$22.16 ¥3,503

-32.36%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$3.62 ¥572

14.64%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$2.63 ¥416

15.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$2.14 ¥338

54.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

$5.18 ¥819

-8.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$2.41 ¥380

26.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$2.58 ¥407

-1.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$1.31 ¥207

89.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.74 ¥117

120.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$3.99 ¥630

1004.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$6.42 ¥1,015

93.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$1.87 ¥295

185.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$3.19 ¥504

61.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$1.47 ¥232

161.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$67.2 ¥10.6K

110.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$3.97 ¥627

10.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$3.56 ¥563

-60.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

$11.44 ¥1,808

160.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.09 ¥173

33.94%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$21.3K ¥3.4M

32.45%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$15.4K ¥2.4M

68.41%

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

$233 A$334

$162 ¥25.6K

43.66%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$24.91 ¥3,938

9.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$53.8 ¥8,503

6.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$71.3 ¥11.3K

-26.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

$54.9 ¥8,679

-58.81%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$12.17 ¥1,924

40.51%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

$329 ¥52.0K

621.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

$5,538 ¥875.3K

450.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$50.1 ¥7,913

56.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$23.29 ¥3,681

116.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$78.8 ¥12.5K

52.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$94.6 ¥14.9K

40.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$404 ¥63.9K

323.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$328 ¥51.9K

327.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$826 ¥130.5K

304.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$663 ¥104.8K

281.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$8,594 ¥1.4M

-18.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$1,206 ¥190.6K

461.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$1,849 ¥292.3K

128.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.23

164.57%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Okinawa: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Okinawa

$328 23.8% 76.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Okinawa

$328 23.8% 14.8% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Okinawa

$241 17.4% 24.1% $76

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Okinawa

$182 13.2% 41.9% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Okinawa

$111 8% 35.5% $61

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Okinawa

$95 6.9% 43.6% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Okinawa

$96 6.9% 10.1% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $404 in Okinawa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 129% 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 $40.00 in Okinawa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $328 per month, with Okinawa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Okinawa

🕒 Local time

16:07 4:07 PM

14:07 2:07 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

142,752

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Okinawa 7,370 km ≈ 10 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 Okinawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Okinawa differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,399 including rent). Okinawa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 129% 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $404 in Okinawa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $329 in Okinawa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,399 in Okinawa versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Okinawa but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Okinawa 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 Okinawa 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 Okinawa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.