Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Tsushima Island

For one person, living is cheaper in Tsushima Island: $1,243 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Tsushima Island
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Tsushima Island Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Tsushima Island

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,243

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Tsushima Island

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,243 in Tsushima Island.

Melbourne $2,821
Tsushima Island $1,243

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,932 in Tsushima Island.

Melbourne $4,235
Tsushima Island $1,932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,621 in Tsushima Island.

Melbourne $5,650
Tsushima Island $2,621

Living in Melbourne is roughly 127% more expensive than in Tsushima Island, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 109% above, Tsushima Island is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$7.05 ¥1,115

147.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$34.88 ¥5,511

142.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.41 ¥855

130.31%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.10 ¥489

32.58%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.09 ¥172

180.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 A$3.62

$0.76 ¥121

231.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.80 A$14.10

$2.14 ¥338

357.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.04 ¥480

181.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.51 ¥239

-1.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.65 ¥261

78.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.90 ¥774

-45.71%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.32 ¥366

138.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.15 ¥1,604

3.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.14 ¥970

57.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$15.73 ¥2,485

-3.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.23 ¥826

-23.71%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.55 ¥402

18.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$4.07 ¥644

-23.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.65 ¥735

3.66%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.31 ¥523

-8.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.68 ¥424

-8.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.38 ¥218

78.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.88 ¥139

85.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.21 ¥665

946.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.52 ¥1,031

94.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.01 ¥317

175.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.30 ¥364

127.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.67 ¥264

123.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$55.2 ¥8,717

149.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.45 ¥546

30.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$2.91 ¥460

-53.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$21.07 ¥3,329

44.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.24 ¥196

18.55%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$23.1K ¥3.6M

25.71%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.2K ¥2.7M

54.07%

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

$234 A$336

$139 ¥21.9K

68.20%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$26.86 ¥4,244

3.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$34.31 ¥5,420

62.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$58.7 ¥9,269

-15.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$13.77 ¥2,176

55.99%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$13.36 ¥2,111

12.95%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$283 ¥44.7K

738.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

126.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$42.68 ¥6,742

87.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$29.86 ¥4,717

69.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$59.3 ¥9,365

103.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$90.5 ¥14.3K

44.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$463 ¥73.1K

280.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$334 ¥52.8K

315.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$877 ¥138.6K

298.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$657 ¥103.8K

279.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,841 ¥448.8K

143.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,775 ¥280.5K

263.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

1.81

225.97%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tsushima Island: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Tsushima Island

$334 26.9% 75.9% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Tsushima Island

$309 24.9% 19.6% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Tsushima Island

$200 16.1% 36.9% $117

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Tsushima Island

$134 10.8% 57.4% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Tsushima Island

$100 8.1% 41.8% $72

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Tsushima Island

$80 6.4% 51.2% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Tsushima Island

$85 6.9% 7.3% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $463 in Tsushima Island. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $35.00 in Tsushima Island for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $309 per month, with Tsushima Island cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Tsushima Island

🕒 Local time

18:45 6:45 PM

16:45 4:45 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

28,000

💱 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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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Melbourne vs Tsushima Island: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Tsushima Island differ by about 127% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,243 including rent). Tsushima Island 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 $1,864 in Tsushima Island 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 $463 in Tsushima Island. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $283 in Tsushima Island. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,243 in Tsushima Island versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tsushima Island but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Tsushima Island 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 Tsushima Island 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 Tsushima Island gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.