Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Sao Tome and Principe

Name: Sao Tome and Principe
Address: ST

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,206 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Sao Tome and Principe

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 Sao Tome and Principe actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe.

Italy $1,843
Sao Tome and Principe $1,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $1,890 in Sao Tome and Principe.

Italy $2,816
Sao Tome and Principe $1,890

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $2,575 in Sao Tome and Principe.

Italy $3,788
Sao Tome and Principe $2,575

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,038 to $2,555, compared to $199–$1,211 in Sao Tome and Principe. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Italy is roughly 53% more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe on average.

Italy (35% above) and Sao Tome and Principe (11% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.46 €18.38

$8.86 STN 195

130.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.5 €71.4

$43.95 STN 967

80.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €10.02

$8.60 STN 189

29.65%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.83

$2.40 STN 52.7

-15.00%

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

$3.10 €2.78

$1.81 STN 39.89

71.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.26

$1.13 STN 24.76

23.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.51 €4.95

$1.74 STN 38.32

216.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.16

$1.88 STN 41.45

205.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.41

$1.53 STN 33.69

2.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.14

$1.52 STN 33.44

56.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.60

$1.87 STN 41.10

55.08%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.66

$4.40 STN 96.7

-7.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.44 €15.67

$19.33 STN 425

-9.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.56 €11.28

$19.32 STN 425

-34.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €18.12

$21.09 STN 464

-4.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.32

$3.80 STN 83.6

-32.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.97

$1.76 STN 38.65

24.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 €2.41

$3.58 STN 78.8

-25.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 €2.93

$3.54 STN 78.0

-7.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.71

$2.87 STN 63.2

-33.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.38 STN 52.4

-23.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.41

$0.53 STN 11.68

196.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$2.06 STN 45.40

-73.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.69 €6.01

$2.19 STN 48.09

205.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.17

$7.98 STN 176

0.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.59

$1.47 STN 32.25

20.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.11

$1.68 STN 36.91

39.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.72

$1.34 STN 29.52

42.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €39.02

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 €5.05

$1.64 STN 36.10

242.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.54

$2.66 STN 58.6

-35.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.64 €30.22

$13.81 STN 304

143.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.82

$1.74 STN 38.37

16.67%

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

$35.3K €31.7K

$24.4K STN 535.9K

44.96%

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

$36.7K €33.0K

$31.6K STN 694.4K

16.43%

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

$227 €204

$224 STN 4,934

1.03%

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

$11.59 €10.41

$30.91 STN 680

-62.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.29

$65.8 STN 1,447

-53.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 €46.51

$34.11 STN 750

51.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.29

$25.43 STN 560

-6.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 €9.52

$20.50 STN 451

-48.29%

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

$568 €510

$228 STN 5,021

148.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.4K

$2,158 STN 47.5K

434.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €81.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.55 €34.63

$75.2 STN 1,653

-48.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.2

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €118

$18.67 STN 411

601.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €742

$288 STN 6,339

186.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 €580

$195 STN 4,300

230.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 €1,258

$920 STN 20.2K

52.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 €947

$437 STN 9,606

141.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,662 €3,290

$1,861 STN 40.9K

96.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,301 €2,067

$1,125 STN 24.8K

104.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,886 €1,694

$441 STN 9,709

327.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

7.38

-51.76%

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

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$646 35.1%

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.2% 69.8% $451

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$348 18.9%

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3% 15.5% $54

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.1%

Sao Tome and Principe

$150 12.4% 46.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$269 14.6%

Sao Tome and Principe

$321 26.6% 19.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 8.9%

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5% 74.1% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$73 4%

Sao Tome and Principe

$75 6.2% 2.9% $2.1

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.5%

Sao Tome and Principe

$20 * 1.7% 68.9% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $288 in Sao Tome and Principe. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $288 in Sao Tome.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $259 in Sao Tome and Principe. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 153% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 74% more in Italy.

Salaries are about 7.3 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🕒 Local time

19:08 7:08 PM

18:08 6:08 PM

1 h behind Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

204,327

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 STN = 4.55 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 22 STN (100 STN = 4.55 USD). 1 EUR = 24.49 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Italy Sao Tome and Principe 4,660 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Sao Tome and Principe

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 Sao Tome and Principe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe, there’s a 53% gap. 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 $729 in Italy and $288 in Sao Tome and Principe. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Sao Tome and Principe, $1,500 covers most cities easily; in Italy it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: Sao Tome and Principe wins on affordability; Italy may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.