Cost of living comparison

Macau

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Macau Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 30.4% cheaper than Macau overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.9% more in Japan
Groceries: pay 17.0% less in Japan
Transportation: pay 3.1% more in Japan
Housing: pay 48.8% less in Japan
Childcare: pay 54.7% less in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.0% less in Japan
Clothing: pay 30.1% less in Japan

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

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Japan vs. Macau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.9% more for restaurants

	Macau	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.19 MOP50.00	$6.75 ¥1,066	+9.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.94 MOP48.00	$5.10 ¥805	-14.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MOP7.17	$1.13 ¥179	+28.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 MOP5.10	$0.76 ¥120	+20.0%
Average			+2.9%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.0% less for groceries

	Macau	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.72 MOP13.89	$1.53 ¥241	-11.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.09 MOP65.42	$5.55 ¥877	-31.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.99 MOP96.91	$5.56 ¥879	-53.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.42 MOP27.62	$2.01 ¥318	-41.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.79 MOP71.05	$2.85 ¥450	-67.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 MOP9.67	$2.16 ¥342	+81.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.31 MOP10.58	$1.08 ¥171	-17.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 MOP7.00	$1.54 ¥243	+77.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 MOP8.79	$1.92 ¥303	+76.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 MOP14.43	$1.10 ¥174	-38.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.31 MOP10.58	$1.08 ¥170	-17.8%
Average			-17.0%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1% more for transportation

	Macau	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.86 MOP55.46	$4.11 ¥649	-40.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.43 MOP181.31	$63.20 ¥9,986	+181.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,925.27 MOP250K	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-31.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.69 MOP102.60	$24.65 ¥3,895	+94.2%
Average			+3.1%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.8% less for housing

	Macau	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.99 MOP299.00	$33.54 ¥5,300	-9.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,083.62 MOP8,760.04	$546.58 ¥86,367	-49.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,032.90 MOP8,350.04	$360.78 ¥57,008	-65.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.11 MOP752.74	$113.26 ¥17,897	+21.6%
Average			-48.8%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 54.7% less for childcare

	Macau	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,211.24 MOP9,791.72	$417.01 ¥65,893	-65.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,979.08 MOP153K	$11,300.14 ¥2M	-40.5%
Average			-54.7%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Macau	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.75 MOP46.50	$2.57 ¥406	-55.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.01 MOP40.50	$3.06 ¥483	-39.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.68 MOP54.00	$3.83 ¥605	-42.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.07 MOP558.34	$53.31 ¥8,424	-22.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.48 MOP109.00	$11.73 ¥1,853	-13.0%
Average			-34.0%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.1% less for clothing

	Macau	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.52 MOP562.00	$46.32 ¥7,320	-33.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.40 MOP270.00	$31.33 ¥4,950	-6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.78 MOP750.00	$59.45 ¥9,394	-35.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$136.07 MOP1,100.01	$81.04 ¥12,805	-40.4%
Average			-30.1%

Macau vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Macau vs. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 6 statistics

Make 52.6% less money in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Macau is about 13,401 times smaller than Japan.

Moving from Macau to Japan · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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