Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Sagamihara

For one person, living is cheaper in Sagamihara: $1,257 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Sagamihara
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Sagamihara Living Index

Jump to prices

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Sagamihara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,257

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Sagamihara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,257 in Sagamihara.

Melbourne $2,821
Sagamihara $1,257

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $2,021 in Sagamihara.

Melbourne $4,235
Sagamihara $2,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,785 in Sagamihara.

Melbourne $5,650
Sagamihara $2,785

Living in Melbourne is roughly 124% more expensive than in Sagamihara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Sagamihara is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$8.53 ¥1,348

104.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$32.01 ¥5,057

164.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.91 ¥775

153.77%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.46 ¥389

67.07%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.23 ¥195

148.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.86 ¥135

193.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$3.11 ¥492

215.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.08 ¥486

178.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$0.93 ¥147

59.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$0.62 ¥97.4

374.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.18 ¥660

-36.36%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.83 ¥290

202.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$15.74 ¥2,486

-33.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.96 ¥1,099

38.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$17.26 ¥2,727

-11.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$2.27 ¥358

75.77%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$1.60 ¥252

88.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$5.02 ¥794

-38.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$7.96 ¥1,257

-39.45%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.90 ¥616

-22.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$4.74 ¥749

-48.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.13 ¥178

117.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.42 ¥67.1

288.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.98 ¥629

1007.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.59 ¥1,515

32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.61 ¥412

112.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.13 ¥337

145.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.32 ¥209

183.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$47.24 ¥7,463

191.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.09 ¥488

45.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.81 ¥444

-51.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$15.55 ¥2,457

95.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.06 ¥167

38.68%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

35.53%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

75.57%

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

$234 A$336

$117 ¥18.5K

99.10%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$23.13 ¥3,654

20.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.04 ¥4,904

79.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$58.1 ¥9,172

-14.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.33 ¥1,790

33.19%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$580 ¥91.6K

308.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

107.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$49.53 ¥7,826

61.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$35.82 ¥5,659

41.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$61.4 ¥9,695

96.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$97.3 ¥15.4K

34.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$468 ¥73.9K

275.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$362 ¥57.1K

284.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,074 ¥169.7K

225.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$845 ¥133.5K

195.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,844 ¥765.3K

42.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,779 ¥281.0K

262.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.02

192.08%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sagamihara: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Sagamihara

$362 28.8% 74% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Sagamihara

$321 25.6% 16.3% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Sagamihara

$172 13.6% 45.9% $146

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Sagamihara

$143 11.3% 54.7% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Sagamihara

$110 8.7% 36.1% $62

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Sagamihara

$70 5.5% 57.5% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Sagamihara

$81 6.4% 1.4% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $468 in Sagamihara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $32.00 in Sagamihara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $321 per month, with Sagamihara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Sagamihara

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

10:23 10:23 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

725,493

💱 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 Sagamihara 8,180 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 Sagamihara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Sagamihara differ by about 124% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,257 including rent). Sagamihara 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 $1,886 in Sagamihara 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 $468 in Sagamihara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $580 in Sagamihara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,257 in Sagamihara versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sagamihara but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Sagamihara 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 Sagamihara 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 Sagamihara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 124% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.