Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Ube

For one person, living is cheaper in Ube: $1,237 a month against $2,821 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 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 Ube
Learn more

Ube Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,237

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Ube

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,821 in Melbourne versus $1,237 in Ube.

Melbourne $2,821
Ube $1,237

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,235 in Melbourne versus $1,931 in Ube.

Melbourne $4,235
Ube $1,931

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,650 in Melbourne versus $2,625 in Ube.

Melbourne $5,650
Ube $2,625

Living in Melbourne is roughly 128% more expensive than in Ube, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.43 A$25.08

$6.94 ¥1,097

151.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.6 A$122

$34.14 ¥5,394

147.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.46 A$17.92

$5.52 ¥873

125.72%

Cappuccino

$4.11 A$5.91

$3.19 ¥504

28.84%

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

$3.06 A$4.40

$1.08 ¥171

183.33%

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

$2.03 ¥321

382.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.57 A$12.33

$3.08 ¥487

178.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 A$2.14

$1.51 ¥239

-1.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.94 A$4.23

$1.60 ¥252

83.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$4.73 ¥747

-43.76%

Eggs

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.28 ¥361

142.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 A$15.13

$10.00 ¥1,581

5.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 A$13.89

$6.43 ¥1,016

50.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.22 A$21.91

$15.58 ¥2,462

-2.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 A$5.75

$5.41 ¥854

-26.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 A$4.34

$2.63 ¥415

14.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.46

$4.07 ¥643

-23.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 A$6.93

$4.59 ¥725

5.01%

Potato (1kg)

$3.03 A$4.36

$3.17 ¥500

-4.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.44 A$3.52

$2.67 ¥422

-8.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 A$3.54

$1.38 ¥218

78.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.34

$0.87 ¥138

87.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.4

$4.20 ¥664

949.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.70 A$18.28

$6.56 ¥1,036

93.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.54 A$7.97

$2.00 ¥316

177.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.23 A$7.52

$2.37 ¥374

120.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.74 A$5.38

$1.66 ¥263

125.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$138 A$198

$55.6 ¥8,781

147.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.51 A$6.50

$3.52 ¥556

28.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 A$1.96

$3.00 ¥474

-54.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.45 A$43.81

$20.87 ¥3,297

45.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 A$2.12

$1.18 ¥187

24.58%

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

$29.0K A$41.7K

$22.8K ¥3.6M

27.08%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$17.1K ¥2.7M

54.69%

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

$234 A$336

$142 ¥22.5K

64.30%

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

$27.93 A$40.19

$27.17 ¥4,293

2.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 A$80.2

$33.35 ¥5,268

67.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.40 A$71.1

$57.6 ¥9,103

-14.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 A$30.91

$13.79 ¥2,179

55.77%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 A$21.72

$13.14 ¥2,076

14.84%

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

$2,371 A$3,412

$280 ¥44.2K

747.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K A$43.5K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

126.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.0 A$115

$43.41 ¥6,859

84.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 A$73.0

$30.01 ¥4,741

68.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$174

$59.1 ¥9,343

103.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 A$188

$92.3 ¥14.6K

41.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,759 A$2,531

$473 ¥74.7K

272.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 A$2,000

$326 ¥51.4K

326.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,494 A$5,027

$869 ¥137.3K

302.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,493 A$3,588

$660 ¥104.3K

277.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,926 A$9,967

$2,817 ¥445.1K

145.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,445 A$9,274

$1,733 ¥273.7K

271.99%

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 Ube: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Ube

$326 26.3% 76.6% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$384 13.6%

Ube

$309 25% 19.6% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.3%

Ube

$203 16.4% 36.1% $115

Eating Out

Melbourne

$315 11.2%

Ube

$134 10.8% 57.4% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Ube

$101 8.2% 41.1% $71

Getting Around

Melbourne

$164 5.8%

Ube

$81 6.5% 50.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$80 2.8%

Ube

$84 6.8% 5.4% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,759 in Melbourne and $473 in Ube. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $85.0 in Melbourne vs $34.00 in Ube for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $309 per month, with Ube cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Ube

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

00:01 12:01 AM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

162,570

💱 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 Ube 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Melbourne
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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 Ube: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Ube differ by about 128% in total monthly costs ($2,821 vs $1,237 including rent). Ube 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 $1,856 in Ube 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 $473 in Ube. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,371 in Melbourne versus $280 in Ube. 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 $1,237 in Ube versus $2,821 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ube but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Ube 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 Ube 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 Ube gentler on the wallet – expenses run 128% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.