Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Setagaya-ku

For one person, living is cheaper in Setagaya-ku: $1,183 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,700 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Setagaya-ku
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Setagaya-ku Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Setagaya-ku

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Setagaya-ku

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 Setagaya-ku actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,183 in Setagaya-ku.

Melbourne $2,821
Setagaya-ku $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,834 in Setagaya-ku.

Melbourne $4,235
Setagaya-ku $1,834

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,484 in Setagaya-ku.

Melbourne $5,650
Setagaya-ku $2,484

Living in Melbourne is roughly 138% more expensive than in Setagaya-ku, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Setagaya-ku is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.12 ¥968

184.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$25.64 ¥4,050

229.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.36 ¥690

185.78%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.97 ¥470

38.38%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.04 ¥165

194.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.65 ¥102

287.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.19 ¥346

347.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.22 ¥508

166.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.23 ¥194

20.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.72 ¥272

70.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.64 ¥575

-26.92%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.17 ¥186

373.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.40 ¥1,643

1.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.11 ¥965

57.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$14.25 ¥2,252

6.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.59 ¥883

-28.62%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.74 ¥433

10.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.95 ¥466

5.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.14 ¥654

16.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$2.62 ¥415

15.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.63 ¥416

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.24 ¥196

98.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.56 ¥87.7

191.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.79 ¥599

1062.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.26 ¥989

102.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.81 ¥287

206.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.09 ¥330

150.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.46 ¥231

156.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$50.7 ¥8,012

171.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.23 ¥510

39.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.66 ¥421

-48.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.85 ¥3,294

46.04%

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

$21.2K ¥3.4M

36.63%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$18.6K ¥2.9M

42.65%

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

$234 A$336

$131 ¥20.6K

78.87%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$23.82 ¥3,764

17.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$31.73 ¥5,013

75.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$55.0 ¥8,691

-10.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.52 ¥1,820

30.99%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$636 ¥100.5K

272.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$14.7K ¥2.3M

105.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$62.3 ¥9,846

28.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$36.37 ¥5,747

39.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$62.1 ¥9,814

94.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$102 ¥16.2K

27.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$534 ¥84.4K

229.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$325 ¥51.4K

327.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,152 ¥182.0K

203.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$674 ¥106.4K

270.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$3,724 ¥588.4K

85.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,635 ¥258.4K

294.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

195.00%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Setagaya-ku: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Setagaya-ku

$325 27.5% 76.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Setagaya-ku

$281 23.7% 26.9% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Setagaya-ku

$186 15.7% 41.3% $131

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Setagaya-ku

$122 10.3% 61.2% $193

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Setagaya-ku

$118 10% 31.1% $53

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Setagaya-ku

$73 6.2% 55.4% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Setagaya-ku

$78 6.6% 1.9% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $534 in Setagaya-ku. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $26.00 in Setagaya-ku for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $281 per month, with Setagaya-ku cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Setagaya-ku

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

11:06 11:06 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

943,664

💱 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 Setagaya-ku 8,190 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 Setagaya-ku: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Setagaya-ku differ by about 138% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,183 including rent). Setagaya-ku 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 $1,775 in Setagaya-ku 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 $534 in Setagaya-ku. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $636 in Setagaya-ku. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,183 in Setagaya-ku versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Setagaya-ku but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Setagaya-ku 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 Setagaya-ku 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 Setagaya-ku gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.