Cost of living comparison

Serbia

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. Serbia Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 23.3% more expensive than Serbia overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.5% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 75.1% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 3.7% more in Japan
Housing: pay 39.0% more in Japan
Childcare: pay 59.5% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.0% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 37.6% less in Japan

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

Planning a move to Japan? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Japan vs. Serbia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.5% less for restaurants

	Serbia	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.70 RSD909	$6.75 ¥1,066	-22.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.63 RSD1,006	$5.10 ¥805	-47.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 RSD215	$1.13 ¥179	-44.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 RSD165	$0.76 ¥120	-51.9%
Average			-37.5%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.1% more for groceries

	Serbia	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$0.78 RSD81	$1.53 ¥241	+96.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.54 RSD475	$5.55 ¥877	+22.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.83 RSD505	$5.56 ¥879	+15.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 RSD242	$2.01 ¥318	-13.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.82 RSD295	$2.85 ¥450	+0.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.56 RSD58	$2.16 ¥342	+287.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 RSD81	$1.08 ¥171	+39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 RSD75	$1.54 ¥243	+114.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 RSD104	$1.92 ¥303	+92.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 RSD43	$1.10 ¥174	+166.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.32 RSD34	$1.08 ¥170	+231.8%
Average			+75.1%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.7% more for transportation

	Serbia	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.92 RSD724	$4.11 ¥649	-40.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.68 RSD2,684	$63.20 ¥9,986	+146.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,965.17 RSD3M	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-29.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.06 RSD947	$24.65 ¥3,895	+171.9%
Average			+3.7%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.0% more for housing

	Serbia	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.71 RSD2,792	$33.54 ¥5,300	+25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$340.23 RSD35,559	$546.58 ¥86,367	+60.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$248.38 RSD25,959	$360.78 ¥57,008	+45.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$130.61 RSD13,650	$113.26 ¥17,897	-13.3%
Average			+39.0%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.5% more for childcare

	Serbia	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$258.66 RSD27,033	$417.01 ¥65,893	+61.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,159.32 RSD748K	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+57.8%
Average			+59.5%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Serbia	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.55 RSD267	$2.57 ¥406	+0.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.92 RSD200	$3.06 ¥483	+59.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 RSD453	$3.83 ¥605	-11.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.21 RSD3,053	$53.31 ¥8,424	+82.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.57 RSD582	$11.73 ¥1,853	+110.6%
Average			+52.0%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.6% less for clothing

	Serbia	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.25 RSD8,596	$46.32 ¥7,320	-43.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.18 RSD4,721	$31.33 ¥4,950	-30.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.67 RSD11,044	$59.45 ¥9,394	-43.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.40 RSD12,270	$81.04 ¥12,805	-31.0%
Average			-37.6%

Serbia vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Serbia vs. Japan

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Japan?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Make 2.4 times more money in Japan

Size Comparison · See true size

Serbia is about 4.9 times smaller than Japan.

Moving from Serbia to Japan · OECD 2023

138 people moved from Serbia to Japan.

More cost comparisons

Serbia vs.

Germany

Serbia vs.

Austria

Serbia vs.

France

Serbia vs.

Italy

Serbia vs.

Switzerland

Serbia vs.

Hungary

Serbia vs.

Croatia

Serbia vs.

Slovenia

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Belgrade vs. Tokyo

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 Serbia

Add prices for Japan

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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