Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Finland

Helsinki vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 20.7% more expensive than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Helsinki
Groceries: pay 14.1% less in Helsinki
Transportation: pay 62.5% more in Helsinki
Housing: pay 6.3% more in Helsinki
Childcare: pay 50.3% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.3% more in Helsinki
Clothing: pay 65.5% more in Helsinki

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

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Helsinki vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.59 ¥1,202	$17.92 €15.99	+136.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.06 ¥801	$13.44 €11.99	+165.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ¥260	$3.45 €3.08	+110.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ¥140	$2.59 €2.31	+192.2%
Average			+148.4%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.1% less for groceries

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 ¥271	$2.76 €2.46	+61.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 ¥838	$4.96 €4.42	-6.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.75 ¥911	$5.08 €4.54	-11.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 ¥358	$3.93 €3.51	+73.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.08 ¥488	$6.02 €5.37	+95.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.15 ¥340	$1.26 €1.12	-41.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ¥170	$0.99 €0.88	-7.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 ¥310	$1.12 €1.00	-42.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.39 ¥378	$1.77 €1.58	-25.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 ¥242	$0.55 €0.49	-63.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 ¥231	$0.74 €0.66	-49.4%
Average			-14.1%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of groceries

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pay 62.5% more for transportation

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.08 ¥646	$8.89 €7.93	+117.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.27 ¥10,014	$81.74 €72.96	+29.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,725.38 ¥3M	$36,622.07 €32,689.52	+68.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.47 ¥4,506	$26.34 €23.51	-7.5%
Average			+62.5%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.3% more for housing

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.33 ¥4,801	$24.77 €22.11	-18.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,280.34 ¥203K	$1,207.26 €1,077.62	-5.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$692.48 ¥110K	$904.00 €806.93	+30.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.45 ¥17,957	$104.89 €93.62	-7.5%
Average			+6.3%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of housing

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pay 50.3% less for childcare

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,341.43 ¥212K	$476.51 €425.34	-64.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,252.10 ¥3M	$12,685.20 €11,323.04	-30.5%
Average			-50.3%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ¥601	$10.08 €9.00	+165.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.56 ¥564	$5.23 €4.67	+46.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 ¥621	$14.00 €12.49	+256.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 ¥10,495	$46.96 €41.92	-29.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 ¥2,003	$18.48 €16.49	+46.0%
Average			+50.3%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 65.5% more for clothing

	Tokyo	Helsinki
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.50 ¥8,785	$92.46 €82.53	+66.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.95 ¥5,216	$43.55 €38.87	+32.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.04 ¥10,296	$104.85 €93.59	+61.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.74 ¥11,197	$149.45 €133.40	+111.3%
Average			+65.5%

Tokyo vs. Helsinki - 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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