Cost of living comparison

compared to

Saitama vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

Saitama is 31.1% cheaper than Canberra.

Restaurants: pay 64.7% less in Saitama
Groceries: pay 2.0% more in Saitama
Transportation: pay 3.1% more in Saitama
Housing: pay 55.6% less in Saitama
Childcare: pay 23.3% less in Saitama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.2% less in Saitama
Clothing: pay 45.7% less in Saitama

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

Saitama vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saitama instead of Canberra, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 64.7% less for restaurants

	Canberra	Saitama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.34 A$24.61	$5.68 ¥882	-65.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.81 A$14.76	$4.68 ¥727	-52.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 A$3.90	$0.74 ¥114	-71.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 A$3.37	$0.68 ¥106	-69.5%
Average			-64.7%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0% more for groceries

	Canberra	Saitama
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 A$4.07	$1.75 ¥272	-35.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.99 A$7.51	$4.86 ¥755	-2.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.50 A$8.27	$5.51 ¥857	+0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.31 A$6.50	$2.21 ¥343	-48.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.17 A$6.28	$2.64 ¥410	-36.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 A$2.23	$2.63 ¥408	+77.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.35 A$2.03	$1.06 ¥164	-21.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 A$2.01	$1.76 ¥273	+31.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 A$2.80	$2.64 ¥410	+41.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 A$1.52	$1.44 ¥224	+42.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 A$1.57	$0.76 ¥118	-27.2%
Average			+2.0%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1% more for transportation

	Canberra	Saitama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.42 A$6.65	$4.43 ¥688	+0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$122.90 A$185.04	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,041.09 A$43,723.43	$22,332.63 ¥3,469,597	-23.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.93 A$28.49	$24.99 ¥3,883	+32.1%
Average			+3.1%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.6% less for housing

	Canberra	Saitama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.97 A$78.25	$32.74 ¥5,087	-37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,554.45 A$2,340.33	$417.65 ¥64,886	-73.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,160.39 A$1,747.05	$245.02 ¥38,067	-78.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.03 A$239.43	$105.54 ¥16,396	-33.6%
Average			-55.6%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of housing

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pay 23.3% less for childcare

	Canberra	Saitama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,754.20 A$2,641.08	$271.75 ¥42,219	-84.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,323.22 A$20,059.06	$18,376.64 ¥2,854,995	+37.9%
Average			-23.3%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Canberra	Saitama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54 A$9.84	$2.00 ¥311	-69.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 A$5.13	$3.01 ¥467	-11.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$31.05 A$46.75	$4.01 ¥623	-87.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.70 A$88.37	$66.16 ¥10,278	+12.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.07 A$19.69	$11.69 ¥1,817	-10.6%
Average			-33.2%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.7% less for clothing

	Canberra	Saitama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.40 A$104.48	$36.75 ¥5,710	-47.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.75 A$86.94	$26.73 ¥4,153	-53.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.06 A$141.61	$57.87 ¥8,991	-38.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.40 A$178.26	$66.82 ¥10,382	-43.6%
Average			-45.7%

Canberra vs. Saitama - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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