Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. France Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 25.2% cheaper than France overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 61.1% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 0.1% less in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 13.3% less in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 24.9% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 17.4% less in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.3% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 38.1% less in Japan
Expenses including restaurants, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation are lower in Japan.
Japan vs. France Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of France, you would:
pay 61.1% less for restaurants
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.40
€14.72
|
$6.60
¥1,038
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.58
€10.65
|
$5.10
¥801
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.85
€2.42
|
$1.07
¥168
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
€1.63
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.1% less for groceries
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.00
€1.69
|
$1.50
¥236
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.90
€8.37
|
$5.07
¥796
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.07
€4.29
|
$5.67
¥891
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.06
€3.43
|
$2.08
¥327
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
€5.34
|
$2.93
¥460
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.38
€1.17
|
$2.14
¥336
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.88
|
$1.12
¥176
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
€1.12
|
$1.69
¥266
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.53
€1.30
|
$2.13
¥335
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.81
|
$1.22
¥191
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.92
|
$1.15
¥181
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 13.3% less for transportation
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.83
€6.63
|
$4.39
¥690
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$55.31
€46.80
|
$59.14
¥9,298
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,101.00
€29,702.47
|
$22,599.51
¥4M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.22
€17.96
|
$25.32
¥3,981
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 24.9% less for housing
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.49
€27.49
|
$33.91
¥5,331
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.51
€687.54
|
$543.18
¥85,388
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$661.67
€559.90
|
$353.61
¥55,588
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$156.40
€132.35
|
$118.72
¥18,662
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 17.4% less for childcare
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$772.72
€653.88
|
$296.89
¥46,670
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,376.63
€8,780.70
|
$13,159.48
¥2M
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 21.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
€5.92
|
$2.60
¥409
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.57
€3.02
|
$3.03
¥476
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.51
€11.43
|
$3.89
¥611
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.74
€33.63
|
$59.54
¥9,360
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.44
€11.37
|
$12.46
¥1,959
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 38.1% less for clothing
|
France
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.54
€80.84
|
$44.79
¥7,042
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.45
€35.08
|
$32.04
¥5,037
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.85
€84.50
|
$57.37
¥9,018
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.46
€112.09
|
$87.37
¥13,735
|
|
France vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
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: February 2026
Change currency:
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 France. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.