Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Sendai

For one person, living is cheaper in Sendai: $1,161 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Sendai
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Sendai Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Sendai

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,161

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Sendai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,161 in Sendai.

Melbourne $2,853
Sendai $1,161

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,835 in Sendai.

Melbourne $4,275
Sendai $1,835

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,510 in Sendai.

Melbourne $5,697
Sendai $2,510

Living in Melbourne is roughly 146% more expensive than in Sendai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Sendai is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$6.23 ¥984

176.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$34.65 ¥5,474

139.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$4.50 ¥711

176.22%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.62 ¥571

11.88%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.94 ¥149

231.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.78 ¥124

215.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$1.87 ¥295

409.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.20 ¥505

155.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.45 ¥229

7.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.44 ¥227

101.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$6.64 ¥1,048

-59.94%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.09 ¥330

156.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$10.89 ¥1,721

-2.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$11.91 ¥1,881

-17.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$9.00 ¥1,422

70.67%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$3.55 ¥560

17.46%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.20 ¥348

43.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$4.47 ¥707

-27.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$3.24 ¥512

46.91%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$2.58 ¥407

18.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.27 ¥358

8.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.41 ¥222

73.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$1.25 ¥198

30.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$4.44 ¥701

917.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$7.01 ¥1,107

80.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.57 ¥248

262.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.61 ¥413

100.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.47 ¥232

163.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$37.26 ¥5,886

281.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$5.23 ¥826

-13.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$18.42 ¥2,910

66.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.06 ¥168

38.68%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$15.8K ¥2.5M

82.30%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$24.8K ¥3.9M

4.41%

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

$235 A$338

$138 ¥21.8K

70.43%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$30.52 ¥4,822

-10.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$34.78 ¥5,495

61.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$44.60 ¥7,046

12.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$12.84 ¥2,029

67.37%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$10.07 ¥1,590

76.37%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$229 ¥36.2K

942.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$3,792 ¥599.0K

682.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$56.1 ¥8,868

41.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$33.92 ¥5,359

45.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$35.34 ¥5,583

235.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$53.5 ¥8,455

146.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$560 ¥88.4K

215.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$327 ¥51.7K

331.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$692 ¥109.4K

408.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$715 ¥112.9K

253.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$2,638 ¥416.8K

170.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,424 ¥225.0K

346.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

$996 ¥157.3K

327.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.73

116.12%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Sendai: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Sendai

$327 28.2% 76.8% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Sendai

$308 26.5% 20.7% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Sendai

$203 17.5% 36.2% $115

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Sendai

$129 11.1% 58.2% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Sendai

$81 6.9% 52.8% $90

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Sendai

$48 * 4.2% 71.4% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Sendai

$65 5.6% 24.4% $21

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 $1,763 in Melbourne and $560 in Sendai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 328% 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: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $35.00 in Sendai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $308 per month, with Sendai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Sendai

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

01:01 1:01 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

1,082,159

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Sendai 8,470 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 Sendai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Sendai differ by about 146% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,161 including rent). Sendai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 328% 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $560 in Sendai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $229 in Sendai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,161 in Sendai versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sendai but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Sendai 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 Sendai 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 Sendai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.