Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shiso and Melbourne

For one person, living is cheaper in Shiso: $1,048 a month against $2,853 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Shiso
Learn more

Shiso Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Shiso

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,048

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,853

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Shiso 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 Shiso and in Melbourne actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,048 in Shiso versus $2,853 in Melbourne.

Shiso $1,048
Melbourne $2,853

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,913 in Shiso versus $4,275 in Melbourne.

Shiso $1,913
Melbourne $4,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,777 in Shiso versus $5,697 in Melbourne.

Shiso $2,777
Melbourne $5,697

Living in Shiso costs roughly 63% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Shiso is 23% below, Melbourne is 111% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.87 ¥1,244

$17.20 A$24.75

-54.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 ¥10.7K

$83.1 A$120

-18.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.29 ¥993

$12.43 A$17.88

-49.40%

Cappuccino

$3.69 ¥584

$4.05 A$5.82

-8.89%

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

$0.83 ¥132

$3.12 A$4.50

-73.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 ¥114

$2.46 A$3.54

-70.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 ¥407

$9.52 A$13.71

-72.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 ¥497

$8.16 A$11.74

-61.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 ¥240

$1.56 A$2.25

-2.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.00 ¥474

$2.90 A$4.18

3.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.87 ¥769

$2.66 A$3.82

83.08%

Eggs

$2.19 ¥346

$5.37 A$7.72

-59.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 ¥1,609

$10.67 A$15.36

-4.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 ¥1,023

$9.85 A$14.17

-34.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.01 ¥4,267

$15.36 A$22.11

75.85%

Apples (1kg)

$5.33 ¥842

$4.17 A$6.00

27.82%

Banana (1kg)

$2.59 ¥409

$3.15 A$4.53

-17.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.06 ¥641

$3.26 A$4.69

24.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.97 ¥943

$4.76 A$6.85

25.42%

Potato (1kg)

$4.29 ¥678

$3.06 A$4.41

40.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 ¥411

$2.47 A$3.55

5.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$2.45 A$3.52

-43.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥130

$1.63 A$2.34

-49.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 ¥650

$45.17 A$65.0

-90.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.66 ¥1,211

$12.68 A$18.25

-39.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 ¥303

$5.69 A$8.18

-66.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ¥351

$5.23 A$7.53

-57.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 ¥216

$3.87 A$5.57

-64.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.90 ¥5,356

$142 A$204

-76.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.57 ¥564

$4.54 A$6.53

-21.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.88 ¥455

$1.42 A$2.04

102.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.87 ¥3,297

$30.59 A$44.01

-31.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥202

$1.47 A$2.11

-12.93%

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

$22.9K ¥3.6M

$28.9K A$41.5K

-20.67%

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

$17.0K ¥2.7M

$25.9K A$37.3K

-34.48%

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

$144 ¥22.8K

$235 A$338

-38.59%

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

$23.93 ¥3,781

$27.45 A$39.51

-12.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.58 ¥2,146

$56.1 A$80.8

-75.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.74 ¥5,805

$50.1 A$72.1

-26.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.71 ¥2,167

$21.49 A$30.93

-36.20%

Cinema Ticket

$4.59 ¥726

$17.76 A$25.56

-74.16%

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

$283 ¥44.8K

$2,385 A$3,432

-88.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K ¥2.1M

$29.7K A$42.7K

-54.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.06 ¥1,589

$79.2 A$114

-87.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.87 ¥4,720

$49.49 A$71.2

-39.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$33.76 ¥5,334

$118 A$170

-71.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.7 ¥15.7K

$132 A$190

-24.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$470 ¥74.3K

$1,763 A$2,537

-73.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 ¥26.0K

$1,411 A$2,031

-88.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 ¥136.1K

$3,522 A$5,069

-75.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$659 ¥104.2K

$2,525 A$3,634

-73.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,229 ¥668.1K

$7,136 A$10.3K

-40.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,769 ¥279.5K

$6,355 A$9,144

-72.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,258 A$6,128

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.78

5.9

-69.83%

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

Last update for Shiso: October 18, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Shiso

$368 35.2%

Melbourne

$388 13.6% 5.4% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shiso

$182 17.4%

Melbourne

$319 11.2% 75.2% $137

Accommodation & Living

Shiso

$165 15.7%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.5% 757% $1.2K

Eating Out

Shiso

$152 14.5%

Melbourne

$310 10.9% 104% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Shiso

$78 7.4%

Melbourne

$171 6% 119% $93

Getting Around

Shiso

$57 5.5%

Melbourne

$169 5.9% 195% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Shiso

$46 4.4%

Melbourne

$86 3% 86.4% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $470 in Shiso and $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Shiso vs $83.0 in Melbourne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $368 vs $388 per month, with Shiso cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Shiso

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

12:30 12:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

2 h ahead of Shiso

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,610

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 21, 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 21, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Shiso Melbourne 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Shiso
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

Shiso vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shiso and Melbourne differ by about 172% in total monthly costs ($1,048 vs $2,853 including rent). Shiso is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,572 in Shiso and $4,280 in Melbourne 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: $470 in Shiso versus $1,763 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $283 in Shiso 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 5% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,048 in Shiso versus $2,853 in Melbourne, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Shiso but tight or insufficient in Melbourne. The gap between the two cities makes Shiso 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, Shiso 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 Shiso gentler on the wallet – expenses run 172% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.