Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Malta

Name: Malta
Address: MT

For one person, living is cheaper in Italy: $1,843 a month against $1,970 in Malta, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Malta outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Malta
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Malta Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,970

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Malta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $1,970 in Malta.

Italy $1,843
Malta $1,970

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $3,036 in Malta.

Italy $2,816
Malta $3,036

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $4,102 in Malta.

Italy $3,788
Malta $4,102

Italy ($1,038–$2,555) and Malta ($1,657–$2,871) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Italy costs about 6% less than in Malta on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Italy 35% above, Malta 45% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.46 €18.33

$16.44 €14.74

24.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.5 €71.2

$82.7 €74.1

-3.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €9.99

$11.69 €10.48

-4.62%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.83

$2.75 €2.47

-25.82%

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

$3.10 €2.78

$2.57 €2.30

20.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.68 €1.50

-16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.51 €4.94

$4.48 €4.02

22.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.14

$4.43 €3.97

29.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.30 €1.16

20.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.13

$1.30 €1.17

83.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.60

$3.71 €3.33

-21.83%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.65

$3.90 €3.50

4.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.44 €15.63

$10.47 €9.38

66.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.56 €11.25

$10.15 €9.10

23.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €18.07

$16.73 €14.99

20.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$3.08 €2.76

-16.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$2.20 €1.97

-0.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 €2.40

$2.93 €2.63

-8.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 €2.93

$3.24 €2.90

0.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.94 €1.74

-2.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.09 €1.87

-12.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.90 €1.70

-17.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.93 €0.83

-40.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.69 €6.00

$6.91 €6.19

-3.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.16

$8.18 €7.33

-2.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.72 €1.54

2.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.11

$2.33 €2.09

0.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.71

$2.25 €2.02

-15.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €38.92

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 €5.03

$5.72 €5.13

-1.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.54

$2.23 €2.00

-23.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.64 €30.14

$33.06 €29.62

1.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.82

$1.48 €1.33

37.16%

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

$35.3K €31.6K

$27.4K €24.5K

28.89%

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

$36.7K €32.9K

$39.5K €35.4K

-7.06%

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

$227 €203

$103 €92.2

120.27%

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

$11.59 €10.39

$26.16 €23.44

-55.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.22

$34.75 €31.14

-12.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 €46.39

$67.0 €60.1

-22.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.24

$22.27 €19.95

6.42%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 €9.50

$11.01 €9.86

-3.72%

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

$568 €509

$436 €391

30.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.3K

$11.2K €10.1K

2.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €81.1

$99.7 €89.3

-9.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.55 €34.55

$46.43 €41.60

-16.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.0

$105 €93.8

-1.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €117

$119 €107

10.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €740

$1,230 €1,102

-32.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 €579

$974 €872

-33.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 €1,255

$2,093 €1,875

-33.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 €945

$1,660 €1,488

-36.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,662 €3,282

$4,503 €4,036

-18.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,301 €2,062

$3,344 €2,996

-31.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,886 €1,690

$1,766 €1,582

6.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

4.06

-12.32%

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

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for Malta: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$646 35.1%

Malta

$974 49.4% 50.7% $327

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$348 18.9%

Malta

$304 15.4% 12.7% $44

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.1%

Malta

$248 12.6% 11% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$269 14.6%

Malta

$164 8.3% 39% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 8.9%

Malta

$166 8.4% 1.9% $3.2

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$73 4%

Malta

$89 4.5% 22% $16

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.5%

Malta

$26 * 1.3% 60.4% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $1,180 in Malta. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $1,389 in Valletta.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $1,801 in Malta. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 62% higher in Malta.

Dining out costs 12% more in Malta.

Public transport is 43% more expensive in Italy.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇲🇹 Malta

🕒 Local time

05:53 5:53 AM

Same time as Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

553,214

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Italy Malta 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Malta

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 Malta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $1,970 in Malta, Italy comes out about 6% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,180 in Malta and $729 in Italy. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

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