Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 30.6% cheaper than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 39.8% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 51.6% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 26.6% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 34.1% less in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 67.8% less in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.4% less in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 55.8% more in Chisinau

The cost of clothing and restaurants in Chisinau are more expensive than in Tokyo. Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation are lower in Chisinau.

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Chisinau vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chisinau instead of Tokyo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.8% more for restaurants

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.59 ¥1,200	$11.22 MDL201.58	+47.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.06 ¥800	$8.70 MDL156.22	+71.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ¥259	$1.21 MDL21.71	-26.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ¥140	$0.89 MDL16.00	+0.5%
Average			+39.8%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.6% less for groceries

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 ¥270	$0.71 MDL12.77	-58.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 ¥836	$4.89 MDL87.82	-7.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.75 ¥909	$4.73 MDL85.03	-17.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 ¥358	$2.79 MDL50.06	+23.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.08 ¥487	$2.36 MDL42.34	-23.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.15 ¥340	$0.44 MDL7.87	-79.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ¥170	$0.87 MDL15.68	-18.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 ¥309	$0.94 MDL16.87	-52.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.39 ¥377	$1.01 MDL18.06	-57.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 ¥241	$0.31 MDL5.61	-79.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 ¥231	$0.25 MDL4.42	-83.2%
Average			-51.6%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.6% less for transportation

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.08 ¥645	$6.44 MDL115.64	+57.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.27 ¥9,997	$13.52 MDL242.90	-78.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,725.38 ¥3M	$29,507.41 MDL530K	+35.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.47 ¥4,499	$4.94 MDL88.69	-82.7%
Average			-26.6%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.1% less for housing

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.33 ¥4,793	$10.59 MDL190.33	-65.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,280.34 ¥202K	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	-46.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$692.48 ¥109K	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	-37.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.45 ¥17,926	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	+63.8%
Average			-34.1%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 67.8% less for childcare

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,341.43 ¥212K	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	-67.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,252.10 ¥3M	$5,841.67 MDL105K	-68.0%
Average			-67.8%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ¥600	$2.24 MDL40.32	-40.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.56 ¥563	$2.16 MDL38.87	-39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 ¥620	$3.42 MDL61.48	-12.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 ¥10,478	$41.67 MDL748.71	-37.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 ¥1,999	$8.41 MDL151.18	-33.5%
Average			-35.4%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.8% more for clothing

	Tokyo	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.50 ¥8,770	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	+43.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.95 ¥5,207	$47.07 MDL845.61	+42.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.04 ¥10,278	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	+75.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.74 ¥11,178	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	+63.4%
Average			+55.8%

Tokyo vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing

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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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