Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kyoto vs. Moscow Cost of Living Summary

Kyoto is 23.9% more expensive than Moscow.

Restaurants
pay 9.5% less in Kyoto
Groceries
pay 80.6% more in Kyoto
Transportation
pay 2.2 times more in Kyoto
Housing
pay 45.5% more in Kyoto
Childcare
pay 48.2% less in Kyoto
Entertainment and Sports
pay 26.8% more in Kyoto
Clothing
pay 44.9% less in Kyoto

The cost of transportation, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Kyoto are more expensive than in Moscow. Expenses including childcare, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Kyoto. Notably, transportation and groceries are significantly more expensive in Kyoto.

Kyoto vs. Moscow Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kyoto instead of Moscow, you would:

pay 9.5% less for restaurants

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $11.93
RUB916.66
$10.02
¥1,576
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.97
RUB458.33
$5.35
¥840
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.38
RUB106.19
$0.92
¥145

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pay 80.6% more for groceries

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Bread
1 loaf
$0.85
RUB65.00
$1.70
¥268
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.27
RUB481.62
$4.57
¥718
Milk (1 gallon) $4.62
RUB354.89
$6.67
¥1,049

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.84
RUB218.02
$4.43
¥697
Monthly public transit pass $36.64
RUB2,814.14
$66.82
¥10,505
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,994.59
RUB3M
$22,332.63
¥4M

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pay 45.5% more for housing

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$7.82
RUB600.38
$32.58
¥5,121
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,253.04
RUB96,249.13
$570.06
¥89,614
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $709.24
RUB54,478.67
$318.25
¥50,029

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pay 48.2% less for childcare

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $656.36
RUB50,416.21
$434.36
¥68,281
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,285.88
RUB1M
$5,345.93
¥840K

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pay 26.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.18
RUB320.83
$3.34
¥525
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.16
RUB242.46
$3.20
¥503
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.98
RUB229.16
$4.01
¥630

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pay 44.9% less for clothing

 
Moscow
Kyoto
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$76.06
RUB5,842.02
$44.33
¥6,968
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.73
RUB3,666.63
$30.91
¥4,858
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$122.95
RUB9,443.75
$50.12
¥7,879

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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: February 2026
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