Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 28.1% more expensive than Maldives overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 23.5% more in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 19.1% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 35.3% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 30.4% less in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 2.7 times more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.0% less in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 1.8% less in Japan
The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, and groceries in Japan are more expensive than in Maldives. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.
Japan vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Maldives, you would:
pay 23.5% more for restaurants
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.56
MVR85.86
|
$6.60
¥1,034
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.80
MVR151.53
|
$5.10
¥798
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.45
MVR22.37
|
$1.07
¥167
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.31
MVR4.71
|
$0.76
¥119
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.1% more for groceries
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
MVR24.58
|
$1.50
¥235
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.58
MVR70.71
|
$5.07
¥793
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.95
MVR107.39
|
$5.67
¥887
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.67
MVR25.76
|
$2.08
¥325
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.82
MVR43.53
|
$2.93
¥458
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.84
MVR28.41
|
$2.14
¥335
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.73
MVR26.73
|
$1.12
¥175
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
MVR30.36
|
$1.69
¥265
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
MVR22.91
|
$2.13
¥334
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MVR10.81
|
$1.22
¥191
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
MVR8.48
|
$1.15
¥181
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 35.3% more for transportation
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.54
MVR54.72
|
$4.39
¥687
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.91
MVR446.89
|
$59.14
¥9,260
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,679.74
MVR505,088.24
|
$22,599.51
¥3,538,292
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.65
MVR272.75
|
$25.32
¥3,965
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 30.4% less for housing
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.82
MVR955.46
|
$33.91
¥5,310
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,136.53
MVR17,565.85
|
$543.18
¥85,043
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$731.21
MVR11,301.35
|
$353.61
¥55,363
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$93.30
MVR1,441.98
|
$118.72
¥18,587
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 2.7 times more for childcare
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$164.38
MVR2,540.59
|
$296.89
¥46,482
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,587.42
MVR55,446.06
|
$13,159.48
¥2,060,314
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 23.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.74
MVR73.24
|
$2.60
¥408
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.31
MVR51.14
|
$3.03
¥474
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.07
MVR202.04
|
$3.89
¥608
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.98
MVR1,128.03
|
$59.54
¥9,322
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.80
MVR151.53
|
$12.46
¥1,951
|
|
Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% less for clothing
|
Maldives
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.03
MVR665.03
|
$44.79
¥7,013
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.86
MVR878.85
|
$32.04
¥5,016
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.20
MVR1,394.04
|
$57.37
¥8,982
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$51.74
MVR799.72
|
$87.37
¥13,679
|
|
Maldives 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: December 2025
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