Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Shiso

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiso: $1,048 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Shiso
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Shiso Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Shiso

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Shiso

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,048 in Shiso.

Melbourne $2,853
Shiso $1,048

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,913 in Shiso.

Melbourne $4,275
Shiso $1,913

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,777 in Shiso.

Melbourne $5,697
Shiso $2,777

Living in Melbourne is roughly 172% more expensive than in Shiso, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Shiso is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$7.87 ¥1,244

118.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$68.0 ¥10.7K

22.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$6.29 ¥993

97.62%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.69 ¥584

9.76%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.83 ¥132

275.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.72 ¥114

241.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$2.58 ¥407

268.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$3.15 ¥497

159.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.52 ¥240

2.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$3.00 ¥474

-3.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.87 ¥769

-45.38%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.19 ¥346

145.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$10.19 ¥1,609

4.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$6.48 ¥1,023

52.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$27.01 ¥4,267

-43.13%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$5.33 ¥842

-21.76%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.59 ¥409

21.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$4.06 ¥641

-19.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$5.97 ¥943

-20.27%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$4.29 ¥678

-28.67%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$2.60 ¥411

-5.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.38 ¥218

77.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.83 ¥130

96.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$4.11 ¥650

999.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$7.66 ¥1,211

65.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.92 ¥303

196.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.22 ¥351

135.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.36 ¥216

184.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$33.90 ¥5,356

318.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$3.57 ¥564

27.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$2.88 ¥455

-50.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$20.87 ¥3,297

46.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.28 ¥202

14.84%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$22.9K ¥3.6M

26.06%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$17.0K ¥2.7M

52.63%

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

$235 A$338

$144 ¥22.8K

62.84%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$23.93 ¥3,781

14.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$13.58 ¥2,146

313.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$36.74 ¥5,805

36.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$13.71 ¥2,167

56.75%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$4.59 ¥726

286.93%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$283 ¥44.8K

741.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$13.6K ¥2.1M

118.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$10.06 ¥1,589

686.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$29.87 ¥4,720

65.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$33.76 ¥5,334

250.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$99.7 ¥15.7K

32.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$470 ¥74.3K

275.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$165 ¥26.0K

756.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$862 ¥136.1K

308.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$659 ¥104.2K

283.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$4,229 ¥668.1K

68.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,769 ¥279.5K

259.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.78

231.46%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Shiso: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Shiso

$165 15.7% 88.3% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Shiso

$368 35.2% 5.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Shiso

$182 17.4% 42.9% $137

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Shiso

$152 14.5% 51.1% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Shiso

$78 7.4% 54.3% $93

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Shiso

$57 5.5% 66.1% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Shiso

$46 4.4% 46.4% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $470 in Shiso. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $68.0 in Shiso for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $368 per month, with Shiso cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Shiso

🕒 Local time

15:11 3:11 PM

13:11 1:11 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

36,610

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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 Shiso 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Shiso

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 Shiso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Shiso differ by about 172% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,048 including rent). Shiso is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $4,280 in Melbourne and $1,572 in Shiso 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: $1,763 in Melbourne versus $470 in Shiso. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $283 in Shiso. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,048 in Shiso versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shiso but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shiso 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 Shiso 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 Shiso gentler on the wallet – expenses run 172% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.