Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and the Maldives

Name: Maldives
Address: MV

For one person, living is cheaper in the Maldives: $1,476 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in the Maldives
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Maldives Living Index

Jump to prices

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,476

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in the Maldives

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 the Maldives actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $1,476 in the Maldives.

Italy $1,843
Maldives $1,476

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $2,376 in the Maldives.

Italy $2,816
Maldives $2,376

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $3,276 in the Maldives.

Italy $3,788
Maldives $3,276

Italy ($1,038–$2,555) and the Maldives ($45–$1,503) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Italy is roughly 25% more expensive than in the Maldives on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Italy 35% above, the Maldives 8% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.46 €18.25

$6.31 MVR 97.3

224.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.5 €70.9

$50.4 MVR 778

57.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €9.95

$9.74 MVR 150

14.48%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.95 MVR 76.4

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.89 MVR 153

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.82

$3.31 MVR 51.0

-38.37%

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

$3.10 €2.77

$1.59 MVR 24.46

94.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.29 MVR 4.44

382.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.51 €4.92

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.12

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.85 MVR 28.58

-15.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.56 MVR 24.10

52.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.59

$1.04 MVR 16.04

178.85%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.63

$1.74 MVR 26.81

133.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.44 €15.56

$6.33 MVR 97.6

175.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.56 €11.20

$6.49 MVR 100

93.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €17.99

$10.13 MVR 156

99.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$4.00 MVR 61.6

-35.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.95

$3.00 MVR 46.33

-27.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$3.86 MVR 59.5

-30.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$2.58 MVR 39.79

26.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.76 MVR 27.08

7.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.75 MVR 27.05

4.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$2.11 MVR 32.53

-25.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.61 MVR 9.37

-9.84%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$11.13 MVR 172

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 MVR 38.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 MVR 71.4

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.69 €5.97

$15.03 MVR 232

-55.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.13

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.58

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.10

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.70

$0.62 MVR 9.54

208.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €38.75

$28.37 MVR 437

53.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 €5.01

$1.97 MVR 30.35

185.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.90 MVR 29.24

-10.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.64 €30.01

$8.30 MVR 128

305.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.81

$0.99 MVR 15.29

105.05%

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

$35.3K €31.5K

$31.9K MVR 492.1K

10.63%

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

$36.7K €32.8K

$30.8K MVR 474.3K

19.48%

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

$227 €202

$129 MVR 1,993

75.25%

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

$11.59 €10.34

$30.04 MVR 463

-61.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.11

$68.3 MVR 1,054

-55.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 €46.19

$62.7 MVR 967

-17.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.14

$20.86 MVR 322

13.61%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 €9.46

$8.98 MVR 139

18.04%

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

$568 €506

$181 MVR 2,795

213.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.3K

$2,834 MVR 43.7K

306.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €80.8

$38.11 MVR 588

137.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.55 €34.40

$50.0 MVR 771

-22.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.6

$86.1 MVR 1,327

19.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €117

$52.4 MVR 808

149.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €737

$930 MVR 14.3K

-11.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 €577

$678 MVR 10.5K

-4.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 €1,249

$1,939 MVR 29.9K

-27.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 €941

$1,484 MVR 22.9K

-28.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,662 €3,267

$2,663 MVR 41.1K

37.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,301 €2,053

$776 MVR 12.0K

196.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,886 €1,683

$781 MVR 12.0K

141.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

-74.57%

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

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for the Maldives: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$646 35.1%

Maldives

$678 46% 5% $32

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$348 18.9%

Maldives

$218 14.8% 37.4% $130

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.1%

Maldives

$127 8.6% 54.5% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$269 14.6%

Maldives

$228 15.4% 15.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 8.9%

Maldives

$102 6.9% 37.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$73 4%

Maldives

$81 5.5% 10.6% $7.7

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.5%

Maldives

$42 2.9% 35.2% $23

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $805 in the Maldives. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $939 in Male.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $736 in the Maldives. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 10% higher in the Maldives.

Dining out costs 87% more in Italy.

Public transport is 72% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are about 2.6 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇲🇻 Maldives

🕒 Local time

14:50 2:50 PM

18:50 6:50 PM

4 h ahead of Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

436,330

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MVR, 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).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.21 MVR (100 MVR = 5.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Italy Maldives 7,330 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Maldives

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 Maldives: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $1,476 in the Maldives, the Maldives comes out about 20% 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 the Maldives: 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.

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