Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Shiga

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiga: $1,191 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 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 Shiga
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Shiga Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Shiga

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Shiga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,191 in Shiga.

Melbourne $2,821
Shiga $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,880 in Shiga.

Melbourne $4,235
Shiga $1,880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,568 in Shiga.

Melbourne $5,650
Shiga $2,568

Living in Melbourne is roughly 137% more expensive than in Shiga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.14 ¥970

183.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$31.73 ¥5,013

166.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$4.96 ¥783

151.21%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$2.90 ¥458

41.72%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.28 ¥202

139.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.69 ¥108

265.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.69 ¥425

264.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.50 ¥554

144.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.28 ¥203

15.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.29 ¥204

127.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$3.81 ¥602

-30.18%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.05 ¥325

170.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$9.35 ¥1,478

12.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$9.43 ¥1,490

2.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$18.30 ¥2,891

-16.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$3.26 ¥515

22.39%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.01 ¥318

50.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$2.04 ¥322

51.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.10 ¥647

17.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$1.57 ¥248

92.99%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$1.17 ¥184

108.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.30 ¥205

89.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.86 ¥136

89.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$3.88 ¥614

1035.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$9.26 ¥1,462

37.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$1.95 ¥308

184.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$3.14 ¥495

66.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.10 ¥174

240.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$52.9 ¥8,350

160.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.70 ¥584

21.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$3.09 ¥488

-55.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$21.14 ¥3,340

44.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.04 ¥165

41.35%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

33.73%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$15.1K ¥2.4M

74.79%

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

$234 A$336

$137 ¥21.6K

70.58%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$24.21 ¥3,825

15.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$18.71 ¥2,955

197.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$52.5 ¥8,288

-5.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$11.77 ¥1,859

28.21%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$518 ¥81.8K

358.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$12.8K ¥2.0M

135.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$47.28 ¥7,469

69.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.38 ¥4,800

66.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$73.6 ¥11.6K

63.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$91.0 ¥14.4K

43.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$536 ¥84.7K

228.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$329 ¥52.1K

321.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$1,113 ¥175.8K

213.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$724 ¥114.3K

244.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$4,138 ¥653.7K

67.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,525 ¥241.0K

322.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

$1,192 ¥188.3K

267.75%

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 10, 2026

Last update for Shiga: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Shiga

$330 27.7% 76.3% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Shiga

$293 24.6% 23.6% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Shiga

$180 15.1% 43.3% $137

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Shiga

$127 10.7% 59.6% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Shiga

$109 9.2% 36.5% $63

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Shiga

$76 6.4% 53.4% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Shiga

$76 6.4% 4.5% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $536 in Shiga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 268% 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 Shiga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $293 per month, with Shiga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Shiga

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

17:25 5:25 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

23,836

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Shiga 8,170 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 Shiga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Shiga differ by about 137% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,191 including rent). Shiga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 268% 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 $536 in Shiga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $518 in Shiga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,191 in Shiga versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Shiga but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shiga 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 Shiga 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 Shiga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 137% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.