Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Yokohama

For one person, living is cheaper in Yokohama: $1,317 a month against $2,852 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Yokohama
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Yokohama Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,852

/mo nomad

Yokohama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,317

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Melbourne and in Yokohama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,852 in Melbourne versus $1,317 in Yokohama.

Melbourne $2,852
Yokohama $1,317

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,297 in Melbourne versus $2,057 in Yokohama.

Melbourne $4,297
Yokohama $2,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,742 in Melbourne versus $2,797 in Yokohama.

Melbourne $5,742
Yokohama $2,797

Living in Melbourne is roughly 117% more expensive than in Yokohama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Melbourne is 113% above, Yokohama is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.75 A$25.40

$6.45 ¥1,021

175.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.8 A$121

$40.79 ¥6,454

107.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 A$17.40

$5.15 ¥814

136.12%

Cappuccino

$3.93 A$5.62

$3.39 ¥537

15.93%

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

$3.14 A$4.49

$1.05 ¥166

199.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 A$3.47

$0.73 ¥116

232.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 A$14.17

$2.56 ¥406

286.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.29 A$11.86

$3.25 ¥515

155.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 A$2.21

$1.44 ¥228

7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 A$4.31

$1.71 ¥271

76.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.88 A$4.12

$3.65 ¥578

-21.10%

Eggs

$5.44 A$7.79

$2.02 ¥320

169.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 A$15.16

$10.39 ¥1,644

1.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.61 A$13.76

$6.23 ¥985

54.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.99 A$21.46

$14.32 ¥2,265

4.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.15 A$5.94

$5.69 ¥900

-27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$3.05 A$4.37

$2.75 ¥434

10.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 A$4.72

$2.96 ¥469

11.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.81

$4.27 ¥676

11.48%

Potato (1kg)

$3.04 A$4.34

$2.61 ¥413

16.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.55 A$3.65

$2.58 ¥408

-1.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.55

$1.24 ¥197

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 A$2.33

$0.82 ¥130

98.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.07 A$63.1

$3.85 ¥609

1044.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 A$17.79

$6.47 ¥1,024

92.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.33 A$7.63

$1.75 ¥277

204.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.16 A$7.38

$2.11 ¥334

144.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.50

$1.38 ¥218

178.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$142 A$203

$57.4 ¥9,089

146.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.40 A$6.29

$3.15 ¥498

39.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.40 A$2.01

$2.71 ¥429

-48.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 A$42.69

$20.27 ¥3,208

47.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 A$2.09

$1.12 ¥177

30.36%

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

$28.1K A$40.3K

$21.7K ¥3.4M

29.70%

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

$25.9K A$37.1K

$18.5K ¥2.9M

40.17%

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

$233 A$333

$132 ¥20.8K

76.92%

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

$27.28 A$39.04

$24.29 ¥3,843

12.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.6

$31.83 ¥5,037

79.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 A$75.4

$50.0 ¥7,914

5.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.62 A$32.37

$11.70 ¥1,852

93.33%

Cinema Ticket

$17.10 A$24.48

$12.46 ¥1,972

37.24%

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

$2,373 A$3,397

$635 ¥100.5K

273.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K A$43.6K

$14.6K ¥2.3M

108.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.2 A$112

$61.5 ¥9,725

27.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 A$72.2

$36.30 ¥5,744

39.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 A$172

$62.8 ¥9,931

92.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 A$191

$101 ¥16.0K

31.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 A$2,451

$1,192 ¥188.6K

43.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,006

$441 ¥69.7K

218.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,339 A$4,778

$2,271 ¥359.3K

47.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,529 A$3,619

$840 ¥132.9K

201.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,018 A$10.0K

$6,367 ¥1.0M

10.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,767 A$9,685

$4,393 ¥695.2K

54.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,228 A$6,051

$2,676 ¥423.4K

58.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

2.64

123.48%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 6, 2026

Last update for Yokohama: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3%

Yokohama

$441 33.2% 68.6% $961

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$385 13.5%

Yokohama

$291 22% 24.4% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$317 11.1%

Yokohama

$188 14.2% 40.8% $129

Eating Out

Melbourne

$314 11%

Yokohama

$134 10.1% 57.2% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$172 6.1%

Yokohama

$118 8.9% 31.6% $54

Getting Around

Melbourne

$168 5.9%

Yokohama

$80 6% 52.7% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$87 3.1%

Yokohama

$75 5.7% 13.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,713 in Melbourne and $1,192 in Yokohama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 58% 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 $41.00 in Yokohama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $385 vs $291 per month, with Yokohama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇯🇵 Yokohama

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

19:10 7:10 PM

2 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

3,777,491

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.699 USD

1 AUD = 0.624 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.699 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.624 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.32 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

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Melbourne Yokohama 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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 Yokohama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Melbourne and Yokohama differ by about 117% in total monthly costs ($2,852 vs $1,317 including rent). Yokohama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% 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: $1,713 in Melbourne versus $1,192 in Yokohama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,373 in Melbourne versus $635 in Yokohama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,317 in Yokohama versus $2,852 in Melbourne, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Yokohama but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Yokohama 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 Yokohama 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 Yokohama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 117% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.