Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ube and Melbourne

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.

60

Cost of Living Index in Ube
Learn more

Ube Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
Learn more

Melbourne Living Index

Jump to prices

Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,237

/mo nomad

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Ube $1,237
Melbourne $2,821

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

Ube $1,931
Melbourne $4,235

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

Ube $2,625
Melbourne $5,650

Living in Ube costs roughly 56% less than in Melbourne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.94 ¥1,097

$17.43 A$25.08

-60.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.14 ¥5,394

$84.6 A$122

-59.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.52 ¥873

$12.46 A$17.92

-55.70%

Cappuccino

$3.19 ¥504

$4.11 A$5.91

-22.38%

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

$1.08 ¥171

$3.06 A$4.40

-64.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 ¥121

$2.52 A$3.62

-69.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 ¥321

$9.80 A$14.10

-79.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 ¥487

$8.57 A$12.33

-64.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ¥239

$1.48 A$2.14

2.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 ¥252

$2.94 A$4.23

-45.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.73 ¥747

$2.66 A$3.82

77.82%

Eggs

$2.28 ¥361

$5.54 A$7.97

-58.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.00 ¥1,581

$10.51 A$15.13

-4.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.43 ¥1,016

$9.65 A$13.89

-33.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.58 ¥2,462

$15.22 A$21.91

2.37%

Apples (1kg)

$5.41 ¥854

$3.99 A$5.75

35.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.63 ¥415

$3.02 A$4.34

-12.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.07 ¥643

$3.10 A$4.46

31.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 ¥725

$4.82 A$6.93

-4.77%

Potato (1kg)

$3.17 ¥500

$3.03 A$4.36

4.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.67 ¥422

$2.44 A$3.52

9.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ¥218

$2.46 A$3.54

-43.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ¥138

$1.63 A$2.34

-46.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ¥664

$44.07 A$63.4

-90.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.56 ¥1,036

$12.70 A$18.28

-48.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 ¥316

$5.54 A$7.97

-63.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ¥374

$5.23 A$7.52

-54.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.66 ¥263

$3.74 A$5.38

-55.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.6 ¥8,781

$138 A$198

-59.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 ¥556

$4.51 A$6.50

-21.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.00 ¥474

$1.36 A$1.96

120.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.87 ¥3,297

$30.45 A$43.81

-31.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥187

$1.47 A$2.12

-19.73%

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

$22.8K ¥3.6M

$29.0K A$41.7K

-21.31%

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

$17.1K ¥2.7M

$26.5K A$38.1K

-35.36%

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

$142 ¥22.5K

$234 A$336

-39.13%

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

$27.17 ¥4,293

$27.93 A$40.19

-2.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.35 ¥5,268

$55.7 A$80.2

-40.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.6 ¥9,103

$49.40 A$71.1

16.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.79 ¥2,179

$21.48 A$30.91

-35.80%

Cinema Ticket

$13.14 ¥2,076

$15.09 A$21.72

-12.92%

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

$280 ¥44.2K

$2,371 A$3,412

-88.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$30.2K A$43.5K

-55.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.41 ¥6,859

$80.0 A$115

-45.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.01 ¥4,741

$50.7 A$73.0

-40.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.1 ¥9,343

$121 A$174

-50.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.3 ¥14.6K

$130 A$188

-29.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$473 ¥74.7K

$1,759 A$2,531

-73.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 ¥51.4K

$1,390 A$2,000

-76.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$869 ¥137.3K

$3,494 A$5,027

-75.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$660 ¥104.3K

$2,493 A$3,588

-73.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,817 ¥445.1K

$6,926 A$9,967

-59.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,733 ¥273.7K

$6,445 A$9,274

-73.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,383 A$6,307

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.81

5.9

-69.32%

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

Last update for Ube: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melbourne: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ube

$326 26.3%

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.3% 327% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Ube

$309 25%

Melbourne

$384 13.6% 24.4% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ube

$203 16.4%

Melbourne

$317 11.3% 56.5% $115

Eating Out

Ube

$134 10.8%

Melbourne

$315 11.2% 135% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Ube

$101 8.2%

Melbourne

$172 6.1% 69.8% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Ube

$84 6.8%

Melbourne

$80 2.8% 5.1% $4.3

Getting Around

Ube

$81 6.5%

Melbourne

$164 5.8% 103% $83

Cost Breakdown

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

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

Good to know

🇯🇵 Ube

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🕒 Local time

23:24 11:24 PM

01:24 1:24 AM

2 h ahead of Ube

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

162,570

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 19, 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 19, 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

Ube Melbourne 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ube
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

Ube vs Melbourne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ube and Melbourne differ by about 128% in total monthly costs ($1,237 vs $2,821 including rent). Ube is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,856 in Ube and $4,231 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: $473 in Ube versus $1,759 in Melbourne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $280 in Ube versus $2,371 in Melbourne. 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, Ube 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 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.