Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Osaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Osaka: $1,400 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 Osaka
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Osaka Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Osaka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,400

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Osaka

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,400 in Osaka.

Melbourne $2,852
Osaka $1,400

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $1,991 in Osaka.

Melbourne $4,297
Osaka $1,991

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,582 in Osaka.

Melbourne $5,742
Osaka $2,582

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.49

$6.19 ¥978

186.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$122

$31.80 ¥5,026

166.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.46

$4.93 ¥780

146.65%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.64

$3.00 ¥474

31.00%

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

$3.14 A$4.51

$1.45 ¥228

116.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.49

$0.72 ¥113

237.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.22

$2.62 ¥415

277.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.91

$3.91 ¥618

112.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.22

$1.46 ¥230

6.16%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.32

$1.31 ¥207

129.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.14

$5.25 ¥830

-45.14%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.82

$2.03 ¥321

167.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.22

$9.77 ¥1,544

8.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.81

$9.22 ¥1,458

4.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.54

$17.95 ¥2,838

-16.49%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.96

$3.29 ¥519

26.14%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.38

$2.00 ¥317

52.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.74

$2.11 ¥333

56.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.83

$4.11 ¥649

15.82%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.36

$1.51 ¥239

101.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.66

$1.19 ¥187

114.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.56

$1.30 ¥206

90.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.86 ¥137

89.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.3

$3.82 ¥604

1053.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.85

$9.74 ¥1,540

27.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.65

$1.87 ¥296

185.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.41

$3.15 ¥498

63.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.52

$1.34 ¥211

186.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$32.68 ¥5,165

332.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.32

$3.85 ¥609

14.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$3.19 ¥504

-56.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.84

$21.93 ¥3,466

36.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.10 ¥173

32.73%

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

$28.1K A$40.4K

$21.5K ¥3.4M

30.85%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

71.46%

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

$233 A$334

$140 ¥22.1K

66.08%

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

$27.28 A$39.19

$24.14 ¥3,816

13.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.9

$30.58 ¥4,834

86.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.7

$49.41 ¥7,810

6.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.49

$18.41 ¥2,910

22.87%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.57

$12.27 ¥1,939

39.36%

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

$2,373 A$3,409

$511 ¥80.8K

364.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.8K

$13.1K ¥2.1M

132.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$47.50 ¥7,508

64.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.5

$30.12 ¥4,761

67.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$173

$73.4 ¥11.6K

64.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$91.0 ¥14.4K

46.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,460

$704 ¥111.2K

143.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,014

$508 ¥80.3K

176.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,796

$1,751 ¥276.8K

90.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,632

$765 ¥120.9K

230.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.1K

$6,208 ¥981.2K

13.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,721

$1,938 ¥306.4K

249.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,074

$2,346 ¥370.8K

80.25%

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 6, 2026

Last update for Osaka: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Osaka

$508 36.9% 63.8% $894

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Osaka

$301 21.9% 21.8% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Osaka

$195 14.2% 38.5% $122

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Osaka

$130 9.5% 58.6% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Osaka

$109 7.9% 36.7% $63

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Osaka

$58 4.2% 65.6% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Osaka

$74 5.4% 14.9% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $704 in Osaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 80% 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 $32.00 in Osaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $301 per month, with Osaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Osaka

🕒 Local time

17:19 5:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

2,691,185

💱 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 Osaka 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Osaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Osaka differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,400 including rent). Osaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 80% 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 $704 in Osaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $511 in Osaka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,400 in Osaka versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Osaka but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Osaka 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 Osaka 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 Osaka 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.