Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tottori

For one person, living is cheaper in Tottori: $1,174 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Tottori
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Tottori Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Tottori

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,174

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tottori

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,853 in Melbourne versus $1,174 in Tottori.

Melbourne $2,853
Tottori $1,174

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,275 in Melbourne versus $1,879 in Tottori.

Melbourne $4,275
Tottori $1,879

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,697 in Melbourne versus $2,584 in Tottori.

Melbourne $5,697
Tottori $2,584

Living in Melbourne is roughly 143% more expensive than in Tottori, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 111% above, Tottori is 13% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.20 A$24.75

$9.48 ¥1,498

81.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$120

$32.02 ¥5,059

159.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 A$17.88

$4.97 ¥786

150.10%

Cappuccino

$4.05 A$5.82

$3.25 ¥513

24.62%

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

$3.12 A$4.50

$0.88 ¥139

254.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 A$3.54

$0.74 ¥116

232.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.52 A$13.71

$3.06 ¥484

211.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 A$11.74

$5.70 ¥901

43.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 A$2.25

$1.51 ¥239

3.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.90 A$4.18

$1.00 ¥159

190.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$5.67 ¥895

-53.09%

Eggs

$5.37 A$7.72

$2.05 ¥323

161.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.67 A$15.36

$8.58 ¥1,356

24.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 A$14.17

$7.17 ¥1,132

37.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 A$22.11

$11.67 ¥1,843

31.62%

Apples (1kg)

$4.17 A$6.00

$4.24 ¥670

-1.65%

Banana (1kg)

$3.15 A$4.53

$2.23 ¥352

41.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 A$4.69

$4.60 ¥727

-29.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.85

$3.36 ¥531

41.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 A$4.41

$1.86 ¥294

64.52%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.55

$1.66 ¥262

48.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.45 A$3.52

$1.19 ¥188

105.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.90 ¥142

81.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$45.17 A$65.0

$3.77 ¥595

1098.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.25

$7.71 ¥1,217

64.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$1.62 ¥257

251.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.53

$2.54 ¥401

105.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 A$5.57

$1.08 ¥171

258.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$204

$54.2 ¥8,556

162.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 A$6.53

$3.27 ¥517

38.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

$3.88 ¥614

-63.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.59 A$44.01

$12.25 ¥1,936

149.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.11

$1.05 ¥167

40.00%

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

$28.9K A$41.5K

$20.9K ¥3.3M

37.85%

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

$25.9K A$37.3K

$14.9K ¥2.3M

74.46%

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

$235 A$338

$102 ¥16.1K

131.04%

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

$27.45 A$39.51

$24.06 ¥3,801

14.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.1 A$80.8

$31.13 ¥4,918

80.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 A$72.1

$52.0 ¥8,209

-3.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.49 A$30.93

$12.73 ¥2,010

68.81%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 A$25.56

$12.06 ¥1,905

47.26%

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

$2,385 A$3,432

$322 ¥50.8K

641.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.7K

$6,609 ¥1.0M

348.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.2 A$114

$34.45 ¥5,442

129.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.49 A$71.2

$23.36 ¥3,690

111.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 A$170

$49.17 ¥7,768

140.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 A$190

$96.0 ¥15.2K

37.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 A$2,537

$272 ¥42.9K

548.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$330 ¥52.2K

327.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,522 A$5,069

$1,117 ¥176.5K

215.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 A$3,634

$743 ¥117.4K

239.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,136 A$10.3K

$4,580 ¥723.6K

55.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 A$9,144

$1,833 ¥289.6K

246.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.74

239.08%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Last update for Tottori: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5%

Tottori

$330 28.1% 76.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$388 13.6%

Tottori

$275 23.5% 29.1% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$319 11.2%

Tottori

$157 13.4% 50.8% $162

Eating Out

Melbourne

$310 10.9%

Tottori

$163 13.9% 47.4% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Tottori

$91 7.8% 46.5% $79

Getting Around

Melbourne

$169 5.9%

Tottori

$81 6.9% 52% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$86 3%

Tottori

$76 6.5% 11.2% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,763 in Melbourne and $272 in Tottori. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83.0 in Melbourne vs $32.00 in Tottori for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $388 vs $275 per month, with Tottori cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Tottori

🕒 Local time

08:24 8:24 AM

06:24 6:24 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

193,717

💱 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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Between locations

Melbourne Tottori 8,230 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
Tottori

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 Tottori: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tottori differ by about 143% in total monthly costs ($2,853 vs $1,174 including rent). Tottori 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 $1,761 in Tottori 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 $272 in Tottori. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,385 in Melbourne versus $322 in Tottori. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,174 in Tottori versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tottori but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tottori 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 Tottori 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 Tottori gentler on the wallet – expenses run 143% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.