Cost of Living · NL vs JP
🇳🇱 Amsterdam vs 🇯🇵 Tokyo: what everyday life costs
Monthly essentials: $2,019 in Netherlands vs $1,524 in Japan — 25% cheaper.
- Essentials, Netherlands
- $2,019/mo
- Essentials, Japan
- $1,524/mo
- Difference
- -25%
- 1-bed city rent, Japan
- $1,041/mo
Biggest differences
Much cheaper in Japan
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -27%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -27%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -27%
Closest to Netherlands prices
- Running shoes (brand): -8.7%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -8.7%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -8.7%
The full basket (32 items)
| Item | Netherlands | Japan | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,433 | $1,041 (155,785 JPY) | -27% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $1,146 | $833 (124,628 JPY) | -27% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $2,620 | $1,903 (284,865 JPY) | -27% |
| Food out | |||
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $15.38 | $11.97 (1,791 JPY) | -22% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $64.10 | $49.86 (7,462 JPY) | -22% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $9.54 | $7.59 (1,136 JPY) | -20% |
| Groceries | |||
| Milk, 1L | $0.98 | $0.82 (123 JPY) | -16% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.85 | $2.38 (356 JPY) | -16% |
| Eggs, dozen | $3.03 | $2.53 (379 JPY) | -16% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $8.92 | $7.43 (1,112 JPY) | -17% |
| White rice, 1kg | $3.57 | $2.97 (444 JPY) | -17% |
| Apples, 1kg | $4.28 | $3.57 (534 JPY) | -17% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $10.71 | $8.92 (1,335 JPY) | -17% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.78 | $1.49 (223 JPY) | -16% |
| Drinks | |||
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $5.13 | $3.99 (597 JPY) | -22% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $7.56 | $6.90 (1,033 JPY) | -8.7% |
| Cappuccino | $4.27 | $3.32 (497 JPY) | -22% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $2.05 | $1.71 (256 JPY) | -17% |
| Transport | |||
| Public transport, monthly pass | $56.36 | $44.85 (6,712 JPY) | -20% |
| Public transport, one-way | $2.38 | $1.90 (284 JPY) | -20% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $3.42 | $2.66 (398 JPY) | -22% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.54 | $1.20 (180 JPY) | -22% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.90 | $0.82 (123 JPY) | -8.9% |
| Utilities & comms | |||
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $173 | $138 (20,653 JPY) | -20% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $60.69 | $48.30 (7,228 JPY) | -20% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $39.02 | $31.05 (4,647 JPY) | -20% |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Gym membership, month | $42.74 | $33.24 (4,975 JPY) | -22% |
| Cinema seat | $11.97 | $9.31 (1,393 JPY) | -22% |
| Men's haircut | $25.64 | $19.95 (2,986 JPY) | -22% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $51.95 | $47.41 (7,095 JPY) | -8.7% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $85.01 | $77.59 (11,612 JPY) | -8.7% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $214 | $166 (24,876 JPY) | -22% |
Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the interactive tool.
Beyond prices
What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about 9,317 km apart as the crow flies.
| Measure | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 🇯🇵 Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $4,367 | $2,387 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $1,341 | $939 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 30.7% | 39.3% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $807 | $445 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.9 | 2.6 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Amsterdam and Tokyo. | 71 | 72 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | very strong | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.5 (low) | 2 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 9 | 16 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 9.1 | 8.5 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 82 | 84 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 97% | 85.5% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 201.5 | 248 |
Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?
Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.
🇳🇱 Netherlands
8.3 pts
22.4% of your income vs 30.7% of a local wage
🇯🇵 Japan
23.7 pts
15.6% of your income vs 39.3% of a local wage
Worked at $6,000/month. Run it on your own income
Related
More comparisons
Frequently asked questions
- How much cheaper is Japan than Netherlands?
- A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,524 in Japan versus $2,019 in Netherlands — 25% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- What does a beer cost in Japan?
- A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.99 in Japan (≈ 597.14 JPY), versus about $5.13 in Netherlands.
- How much is rent in Japan compared to Netherlands?
- A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,041/month in Japan versus $1,433/month in Netherlands (-27%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- How are these prices estimated?
- Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.