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:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.5% more for restaurants

	Maldives	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MVR85.83	$6.60 ¥1,055	+18.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.80 MVR151.47	$5.10 ¥814	-48.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 MVR22.36	$1.07 ¥170	-26.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 MVR4.71	$0.76 ¥122	+149.4%
Average			+23.5%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.1% more for groceries

	Maldives	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.59 MVR24.57	$1.50 ¥240	-5.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 MVR70.69	$5.07 ¥809	+10.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MVR107.35	$5.67 ¥905	-18.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 MVR25.75	$2.08 ¥332	+24.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.82 MVR43.51	$2.93 ¥468	+4.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.84 MVR28.40	$2.14 ¥341	+16.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.73 MVR26.72	$1.12 ¥179	-35.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 MVR30.35	$1.69 ¥270	-13.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 MVR22.90	$2.13 ¥340	+43.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 MVR10.81	$1.22 ¥194	+73.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 MVR8.47	$1.15 ¥184	+110.3%
Average			+19.1%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.3% more for transportation

	Maldives	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.54 MVR54.70	$4.39 ¥701	+24.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.91 MVR446.73	$59.14 ¥9,448	+104.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,679.74 MVR505K	$22,599.51 ¥4M	-30.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.65 MVR272.65	$25.32 ¥4,045	+43.5%
Average			+35.3%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.4% less for housing

	Maldives	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.82 MVR955.11	$33.91 ¥5,418	-45.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,136.53 MVR17,559.37	$543.18 ¥86,771	-52.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$731.21 MVR11,297.18	$353.61 ¥56,488	-51.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.30 MVR1,441.45	$118.72 ¥18,964	+27.2%
Average			-30.4%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	Maldives	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$164.38 MVR2,539.66	$296.89 ¥47,426	+80.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,587.42 MVR55,425.61	$13,159.48 ¥2M	+266.8%
Average			+173.7%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Maldives	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.74 MVR73.21	$2.60 ¥416	-45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 MVR51.12	$3.03 ¥483	-8.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.07 MVR201.96	$3.89 ¥621	-70.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.98 MVR1,127.61	$59.54 ¥9,511	-18.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.80 MVR151.47	$12.46 ¥1,991	+27.1%
Average			-23.0%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.8% less for clothing

	Maldives	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.03 MVR664.79	$44.79 ¥7,156	+4.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.86 MVR878.53	$32.04 ¥5,118	-43.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.20 MVR1,393.53	$57.37 ¥9,164	-36.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$51.74 MVR799.43	$87.37 ¥13,957	+68.9%
Average			-1.8%

Maldives vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2026

Compare further: Maldives vs. Japan

Quality of Life Comparison · 10 statistics

Be 3.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Maldives is about 1,268 times smaller than Japan.

More cost comparisons

Maldives vs.

Germany

Maldives vs.

Australia

Maldives vs.

United States

Maldives vs.

France

Maldives vs.

Ireland

Maldives vs.

Austria

Maldives vs.

Peru

Maldives vs.

Canada

Share this

Compare by city

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

Add prices for Maldives

Add prices for Japan

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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