Cost of living comparison

compared to

Japan vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 21.1% more expensive than Bangkok.

Restaurants
pay 64.5% more in Japan
Groceries
pay 43.5% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 32.8% more in Japan
Housing
pay 40.9% more in Japan
Childcare
pay 26.3% less in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 14.4% more in Japan
Clothing
pay 22.3% less in Japan

The cost of restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Japan are more expensive than in Bangkok. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Japan.

Japan vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Japan instead of Bangkok, you would:

pay 64.5% more for restaurants

 
Bangkok
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.10
THB102.16
$6.60
¥1,065
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.20
THB204.32
$5.10
¥822
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.79
THB26.09
$1.07
¥172

Improve prices ·

pay 43.5% more for groceries

 
Bangkok
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$1.44
THB47.44
$1.50
¥242
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.50
THB280.23
$5.07
¥817
Milk (1 gallon) $7.23
THB238.19
$5.67
¥914

Improve prices ·

pay 32.8% more for transportation

 
Bangkok
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.69
THB154.62
$4.39
¥708
Monthly public transit pass $37.21
THB1,225.92
$59.14
¥9,540
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,206.42
THB1M
$22,599.51
¥4M

Improve prices ·

pay 40.9% more for housing

 
Bangkok
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$16.91
THB557.05
$33.91
¥5,470
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $675.06
THB22,242.61
$543.18
¥87,618
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $321.97
THB10,608.53
$353.61
¥57,040

Improve prices ·

pay 26.3% less for childcare

 
Bangkok
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $609.37
THB20,078.41
$296.89
¥47,889
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,346.39
THB440K
$13,159.48
¥2M

Improve prices ·

pay 14.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Bangkok
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.79
THB91.94
$2.60
¥420
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.54
THB83.70
$3.03
¥488
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
THB144.81
$3.89
¥627

Improve prices ·

pay 22.3% less for clothing

 
Bangkok
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$58.81
THB1,937.58
$44.79
¥7,226
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.03
THB1,253.16
$32.04
¥5,168
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.24
THB3,434.53
$57.37
¥9,254

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Thailand vs. Japan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Thailand and Japan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Japan or Bangkok. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.