Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nara and Alicante

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,215 a month against $1,814 in Alicante, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Alicante
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Alicante Living Index

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Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,215

/mo nomad

Alicante

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,814

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nara and in Alicante

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nara and in Alicante actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Nara versus $1,814 in Alicante.

Nara $1,215
Alicante $1,814

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,828 in Nara versus $2,801 in Alicante.

Nara $1,828
Alicante $2,801

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,442 in Nara versus $3,788 in Alicante.

Nara $2,442
Alicante $3,788

Living in Nara costs roughly 33% less than in Alicante, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nara is 10% below, Alicante is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.40 ¥1,011

$19.14 €17.03

-66.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.96 ¥5,049

$66.0 €58.7

-51.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.10 ¥805

$11.24 €10.00

-54.63%

Cappuccino

$2.48 ¥392

$2.21 €1.97

12.22%

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

$1.30 ¥206

$2.06 €1.83

-36.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥119

$1.30 €1.16

-42.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 ¥489

$3.34 €2.97

-7.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 ¥483

$3.30 €2.94

-7.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ¥238

$1.11 €0.99

35.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 ¥211

$1.64 €1.46

-18.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.05 ¥640

$1.61 €1.43

151.55%

Eggs

$2.13 ¥336

$3.26 €2.90

-34.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 ¥1,517

$17.37 €15.45

-44.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.01 ¥1,108

$9.79 €8.71

-28.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.82 ¥2,815

$15.86 €14.11

12.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 ¥539

$2.58 €2.30

32.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 ¥315

$2.08 €1.85

-4.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 ¥317

$1.79 €1.59

12.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 ¥633

$2.63 €2.34

52.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 ¥248

$1.90 €1.69

-17.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 ¥184

$2.01 €1.79

-42.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ¥177

$1.23 €1.10

-8.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$0.66 €0.58

22.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 ¥604

$6.46 €5.75

-40.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 ¥1,500

$5.42 €4.82

75.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥305

$1.19 €1.06

62.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥337

$2.06 €1.83

3.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 ¥245

$1.65 €1.47

-6.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.0 ¥11.4K

$26.30 €23.39

173.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 ¥510

$3.10 €2.76

4.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.83 ¥447

$1.30 €1.16

117.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.70 ¥2,480

$16.96 €15.09

-7.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$1.76 €1.56

-36.93%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$35.6K €31.7K

-38.60%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$29.1K €25.9K

-48.88%

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

$115 ¥18.2K

$141 €125

-17.91%

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

$24.28 ¥3,836

$18.27 €16.25

32.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.63 ¥4,840

$29.69 €26.41

3.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$82.2 ¥13.0K

$40.64 €36.15

102.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.44 ¥1,176

$16.59 €14.76

-55.15%

Cinema Ticket

$11.85 ¥1,872

$9.07 €8.06

30.65%

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

$511 ¥80.8K

$708 €629

-27.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K ¥2.0M

$9,120 €8,113

40.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.43 ¥7,652

$86.1 €76.5

-43.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.90 ¥4,882

$35.13 €31.25

-12.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.5 ¥9,398

$93.7 €83.3

-36.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 ¥14.0K

$103 €92.0

-14.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 ¥63.8K

$1,003 €892

-59.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 ¥52.7K

$846 €752

-60.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$810 ¥128.0K

$1,685 €1,499

-51.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$544 ¥86.0K

$1,519 €1,351

-64.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,669 ¥421.6K

$4,155 €3,696

-35.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,959 ¥309.5K

$2,008 €1,786

-2.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,110 ¥175.3K

$1,900 €1,690

-41.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

2.99

-32.44%

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

Last update for Nara: October 13, 2026

Last update for Alicante: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nara

$333 27.4%

Alicante

$846 46.6% 154% $513

Groceries & Markets

Nara

$282 23.2%

Alicante

$285 15.7% 1.1% $3.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nara

$170 14%

Alicante

$189 10.4% 10.7% $18

Eating Out

Nara

$126 10.4%

Alicante

$250 13.8% 98.4% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Nara

$106 8.7%

Alicante

$59 3.2% 44.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Nara

$102 8.4%

Alicante

$143 7.9% 39.9% $41

Getting Around

Nara

$96 7.9%

Alicante

$43 2.3% 55.5% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $404 in Nara and $1,003 in Alicante. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alicante pays 71% 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: $32.00 in Nara vs $66.0 in Alicante for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $282 vs $285 per month, with Nara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Nara

🇪🇸 Alicante

🕒 Local time

07:46 7:46 AM

00:46 12:46 AM

7 h behind Nara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

355,280

349,282

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nara Alicante 10,730 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Nara
Alicante

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

Nara vs Alicante: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nara wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Alicante. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Alicante. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $404 in Nara versus $1,003 in Alicante. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $511 in Nara versus $708 in Alicante. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 1% higher in Alicante. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,215 in Nara versus $1,814 in Alicante, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nara but tight or insufficient in Alicante. The gap between the two cities makes Nara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Nara delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,215 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Nara hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nara and Alicante 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 Nara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Alicante. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.