Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Saitama

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,003 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Saitama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,003 in Saitama.

Melbourne $2,821
Saitama $1,003

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,327 in Saitama.

Melbourne $4,235
Saitama $1,327

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $1,650 in Saitama.

Melbourne $5,650
Saitama $1,650

Living in Melbourne is roughly 181% more expensive than in Saitama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Saitama is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$5.50 ¥869

216.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.36 ¥4,955

169.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.80 ¥758

159.58%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.92 ¥461

40.75%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$0.70 ¥111

337.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.58 ¥92.0

334.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.51 ¥396

290.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.23 ¥511

165.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.39 ¥220

6.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.64 ¥259

79.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.76 ¥436

-3.62%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.00 ¥315

177.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.18 ¥1,609

3.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$5.44 ¥859

77.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.20 ¥2,243

7.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.61 ¥887

-28.88%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.16 ¥342

39.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.91 ¥459

6.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.29 ¥678

12.35%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.50 ¥395

21.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.61 ¥255

51.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.30 ¥205

89.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.72 ¥114

126.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.89 ¥615

1032.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.45 ¥1,018

96.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.80 ¥284

207.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.01 ¥318

160.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$3.32 ¥525

12.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.24 ¥512

39.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.63 ¥416

-48.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.14 ¥3,181

51.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.10 ¥174

33.64%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

35.27%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$14.2K ¥2.2M

86.87%

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

$234 A$336

$133 ¥21.0K

76.10%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$18.15 ¥2,867

53.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$32.67 ¥5,162

70.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$62.7 ¥9,909

-21.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.09 ¥1,752

36.07%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$634 ¥100.1K

274.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

107.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$35.01 ¥5,531

128.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$25.25 ¥3,989

100.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$55.0 ¥8,686

119.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$62.6 ¥9,891

108.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$413 ¥65.3K

325.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$233 ¥36.8K

496.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,550 ¥244.9K

182.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.06

186.41%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Saitama: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Saitama

$233 23.2% 83.2% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Saitama

$274 27.4% 28.6% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Saitama

$184 18.3% 42.2% $134

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Saitama

$118 11.7% 62.6% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Saitama

$80 8% 53.4% $92

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Saitama

$30 * 3% 81.9% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Saitama

$85 8.5% 6.7% $5.3

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $413 in Saitama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 183% 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 $31.00 in Saitama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $274 per month, with Saitama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Saitama

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

03:00 3:00 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,182,115

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Saitama 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Saitama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Saitama differ by about 181% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,003 including rent). Saitama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 183% 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: $1,759 in Melbourne versus $413 in Saitama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,821 per month in Melbourne versus $1,003 in Saitama – a 181% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,003 in Saitama versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Saitama but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Saitama 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 Saitama 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 Saitama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 181% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.