Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Madagascar

Name: Madagascar
Address: MG

For one person, living is cheaper in Madagascar: $615 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Madagascar
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Madagascar Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$615

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Madagascar

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Italy and in Madagascar actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $615 in Madagascar.

Italy $1,843
Madagascar $615

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $959 in Madagascar.

Italy $2,816
Madagascar $959

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $1,303 in Madagascar.

Italy $3,788
Madagascar $1,303

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,038 to $2,555, compared to $174–$645 in Madagascar. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Italy is roughly 200% more expensive than in Madagascar on average.

Italy (35% above) and Madagascar (55% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.46 €18.25

$2.14 MGA 9,816

856.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.5 €70.9

$17.92 MGA 82.0K

343.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €9.95

$4.70 MGA 21.5K

137.23%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.82

$1.31 MGA 6,013

55.73%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 €2.77

$0.75 MGA 3,412

313.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.58 MGA 2,645

141.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.51 €4.92

$1.08 MGA 4,955

410.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.12

$1.79 MGA 8,178

220.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.14 MGA 5,215

37.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.00 MGA 4,580

138.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.59

$0.75 MGA 3,443

286.67%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.63

$1.97 MGA 9,032

106.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.44 €15.56

$8.41 MGA 38.5K

107.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.56 €11.20

$4.83 MGA 22.1K

160.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €17.99

$4.70 MGA 21.5K

329.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$1.04 MGA 4,768

148.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.62 MGA 2,820

253.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$0.92 MGA 4,226

191.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$0.86 MGA 3,927

280.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$0.59 MGA 2,686

222.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.76 MGA 3,474

139.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$0.36 MGA 1,630

336.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.61 MGA 2,790

-9.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.69 €5.97

$1.52 MGA 6,979

340.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.13

$5.03 MGA 23.0K

58.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.58

$0.87 MGA 3,983

103.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.10

$1.59 MGA 7,258

47.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.70

$0.12 MGA 530

1491.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €38.75

$17.30 MGA 79.2K

151.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 €5.01

$3.22 MGA 14.7K

74.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.53

$2.26 MGA 10.4K

-24.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.64 €30.01

$4.46 MGA 20.4K

654.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.14 MGA 5,195

78.07%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.3K €31.5K

$12.1K MGA 55.6M

190.87%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$36.7K €32.8K

$24.1K MGA 110.4M

52.28%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$227 €202

$64.6 MGA 295.4K

250.97%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.59 €10.34

$17.45 MGA 79.9K

-33.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.11

$52.5 MGA 240.1K

-42.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 €46.19

$23.01 MGA 105.3K

124.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.14

$7.14 MGA 32.7K

231.93%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 €9.46

$6.22 MGA 28.5K

70.42%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$568 €506

$25.46 MGA 116.5K

2129.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.3K

$14.8K MGA 67.7M

-22.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €80.8

$20.33 MGA 93.0K

345.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.55 €34.40

$25.07 MGA 114.7K

53.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.6

$67.2 MGA 307.3K

52.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €117

$46.30 MGA 211.9K

182.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €737

$294 MGA 1.3M

180.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 €577

$138 MGA 629.5K

369.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 €1,249

$681 MGA 3.1M

105.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 €941

$314 MGA 1.4M

235.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,662 €3,267

$658 MGA 3.0M

456.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,301 €2,053

$560 MGA 2.6M

310.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,886 €1,683

$122 MGA 557.7K

1448.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

19.75

-81.97%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for Madagascar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$646 35.1%

Madagascar

$138 22.4% 78.7% $509

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$348 18.9%

Madagascar

$142 23.1% 59.1% $206

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.1%

Madagascar

$61 10% 78% $217

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$269 14.6%

Madagascar

$134 21.9% 49.9% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 8.9%

Madagascar

$71 11.6% 56.2% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$73 4%

Madagascar

$35 5.8% 51.4% $38

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.5%

Madagascar

$32 5.3% 50.5% $33

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $260 in Madagascar. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $323 in Antananarivo.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $126 in Madagascar. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 180% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 356% more in Italy.

Public transport is 23% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are about 15 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇲🇬 Madagascar

🕒 Local time

16:11 4:11 PM

18:11 6:11 PM

2 h ahead of Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

25,570,895

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MGA, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,577 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD). 1 EUR = 5,108 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Italy Madagascar 7,660 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Madagascar

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Italy vs Madagascar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $615 in Madagascar, Madagascar comes out about 67% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Madagascar: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $729 in Italy and $260 in Madagascar. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: Madagascar wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.