Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Sebastian vs. Saitama Cost of Living Summary

San Sebastian is 72.2% more expensive than Saitama.

Restaurants
pay 2.7 times more in San Sebastian
Groceries
pay 0.8% more in San Sebastian
Transportation
pay 43.2% more in San Sebastian
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in San Sebastian
Childcare
pay 18.6% less in San Sebastian
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.5% less in San Sebastian
Clothing
pay 66.0% more in San Sebastian

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

San Sebastian vs. Saitama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Sebastian instead of Saitama, you would:

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.69
¥900
$16.80
€14.95
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.74
¥750
$10.64
€9.47
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.71
¥112
$2.80
€2.49

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pay 0.8% more for groceries

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Bread
1 loaf
$1.70
¥268
$1.03
€0.92
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.18
¥819
$11.34
€10.09
Milk (1 gallon) $5.37
¥849
$4.42
€3.93

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pay 43.2% more for transportation

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.11
¥649
$6.62
€5.89
Monthly public transit pass ?? $33.59
€29.90
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,434.36
¥3M
$36,315.82
€32,322.39

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$32.16
¥5,082
$35.27
€31.39
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $411.23
¥64,980
$1,404.47
€1,250.03
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $237.25
¥37,488
$973.61
€866.55

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pay 18.6% less for childcare

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $632.30
¥99,913
$447.89
€398.64
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,725.05
¥2M
$13,784.69
€12,268.87

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pay 12.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.53
¥400
$3.36
€2.99
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.01
¥475
$2.05
€1.83
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.80
¥600
$6.16
€5.48

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pay 66.0% more for clothing

 
Saitama
San Sebastian
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$34.80
¥5,498
$72.78
€64.78
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$25.31
¥3,999
$32.19
€28.65
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$55.36
¥8,747
$74.46
€66.27

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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

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