Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sendai and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Sendai: $1,161 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Sendai
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Sendai Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index

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Sendai

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,161

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sendai and in Melbourne

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,161 in Sendai versus $2,853 in Melbourne.

Sendai $1,161
Melbourne $2,853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,835 in Sendai versus $4,275 in Melbourne.

Sendai $1,835
Melbourne $4,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,510 in Sendai versus $5,697 in Melbourne.

Sendai $2,510
Melbourne $5,697

Living in Sendai costs roughly 59% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sendai is 14% below, Melbourne is 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.23 ¥984

$17.20 A$24.75

-63.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 ¥5,474

$83.1 A$120

-58.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.50 ¥711

$12.43 A$17.88

-63.80%

Cappuccino

$3.62 ¥571

$4.05 A$5.82

-10.62%

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

$0.94 ¥149

$3.12 A$4.50

-69.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥124

$2.46 A$3.54

-68.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 ¥295

$9.52 A$13.71

-80.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 ¥505

$8.16 A$11.74

-60.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 ¥229

$1.56 A$2.25

-7.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ¥227

$2.90 A$4.18

-50.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$6.64 ¥1,048

$2.66 A$3.82

149.62%

Eggs

$2.09 ¥330

$5.37 A$7.72

-61.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 ¥1,721

$10.67 A$15.36

2.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.91 ¥1,881

$9.85 A$14.17

20.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.00 ¥1,422

$15.36 A$22.11

-41.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 ¥560

$4.17 A$6.00

-14.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ¥348

$3.15 A$4.53

-30.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.47 ¥707

$3.26 A$4.69

37.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 ¥512

$4.76 A$6.85

-31.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 ¥407

$3.06 A$4.41

-15.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 ¥358

$2.47 A$3.55

-8.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 ¥222

$2.45 A$3.52

-42.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 ¥198

$1.63 A$2.34

-23.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 ¥701

$45.17 A$65.0

-90.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.01 ¥1,107

$12.68 A$18.25

-44.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.57 ¥248

$5.69 A$8.18

-72.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 ¥413

$5.23 A$7.53

-50.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 ¥232

$3.87 A$5.57

-62.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.26 ¥5,886

$142 A$204

-73.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 ¥826

$4.54 A$6.53

15.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 A$2.04

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.42 ¥2,910

$30.59 A$44.01

-39.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.06 ¥168

$1.47 A$2.11

-27.89%

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

$15.8K ¥2.5M

$28.9K A$41.5K

-45.15%

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

$24.8K ¥3.9M

$25.9K A$37.3K

-4.22%

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

$138 ¥21.8K

$235 A$338

-41.33%

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

$30.52 ¥4,822

$27.45 A$39.51

11.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.78 ¥5,495

$56.1 A$80.8

-38.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.60 ¥7,046

$50.1 A$72.1

-10.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.84 ¥2,029

$21.49 A$30.93

-40.25%

Cinema Ticket

$10.07 ¥1,590

$17.76 A$25.56

-43.30%

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

$229 ¥36.2K

$2,385 A$3,432

-90.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,792 ¥599.0K

$29.7K A$42.7K

-87.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 ¥8,868

$79.2 A$114

-29.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.92 ¥5,359

$49.49 A$71.2

-31.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$35.34 ¥5,583

$118 A$170

-70.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.5 ¥8,455

$132 A$190

-59.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$560 ¥88.4K

$1,763 A$2,537

-68.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$327 ¥51.7K

$1,411 A$2,031

-76.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$692 ¥109.4K

$3,522 A$5,069

-80.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 ¥112.9K

$2,525 A$3,634

-71.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,638 ¥416.8K

$7,136 A$10.3K

-63.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,424 ¥225.0K

$6,355 A$9,144

-77.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$996 ¥157.3K

$4,258 A$6,128

-76.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.73

5.9

-53.73%

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

Last update for Sendai: October 19, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sendai

$327 28.2%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5% 332% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Sendai

$308 26.5%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 26.1% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sendai

$203 17.5%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 56.8% $115

Eating Out

Sendai

$129 11.1%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 139% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Sendai

$81 6.9%

Melbourne

$171 6% 112% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Sendai

$65 5.6%

Melbourne

$86 3% 32.3% $21

Getting Around

Sendai

$48 * 4.2%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 250% $121

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $560 in Sendai and $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays 328% 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: $35.00 in Sendai vs $83.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $388 per month, with Sendai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Sendai

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

03:01 3:01 AM

2 h ahead of Sendai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,082,159

5,031,195

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

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).

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).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sendai Melbourne 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sendai
Melbourne

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

Sendai vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sendai and Melbourne differ by about 146% in total monthly costs ($1,161 vs $2,853 including rent). Sendai is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 328% lower in Melbourne. 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: $560 in Sendai versus $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $229 in Sendai versus $2,385 in Melbourne. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,161 in Sendai versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sendai but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Sendai 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, Sendai and Melbourne 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 Sendai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.