Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Zimbabwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Zimbabwe: $864 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Italy
Zimbabwe
🇮🇹 Italy
$1,843
/mo nomad
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
$864
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Zimbabwe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $864 in Zimbabwe.

  • Italy $1,843
  • Zimbabwe $864

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $1,423 in Zimbabwe.

  • Italy $2,816
  • Zimbabwe $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $1,981 in Zimbabwe.

  • Italy $3,788
  • Zimbabwe $1,981

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,038 to $2,555, compared to $579–$1,065 in Zimbabwe. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Italy is roughly 113% more expensive than in Zimbabwe on average.

Italy (35% above) and Zimbabwe (36% below) straddle the global median.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$20.46 €18.32
$6.28 ZWL 167
225.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$79.5 €71.2
$40.61 ZWL 1,079
95.76%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.15 €9.99
$5.55 ZWL 147
100.90%
Cappuccino
$2.04 €1.83
$2.58 ZWL 68.6
-20.93%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.10 €2.78
$0.74 ZWL 19.55
318.92%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.40 €1.25
$0.48 ZWL 12.74
191.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.51 €4.94
$1.47 ZWL 39.04
274.83%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.74 €5.14
$1.98 ZWL 52.5
189.90%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.57 €1.41
$1.49 ZWL 39.69
5.37%
White Bread (500g)
$2.38 €2.13
$1.02 ZWL 27.22
133.33%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.90 €2.60
$1.52 ZWL 40.46
90.79%
Eggs
$4.07 €3.65
$1.89 ZWL 50.3
115.34%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$17.44 €15.62
$9.84 ZWL 261
77.24%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$12.56 €11.25
$4.97 ZWL 132
152.72%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.17 €18.06
$5.60 ZWL 149
260.18%
Apples (1kg)
$2.58 €2.31
$2.72 ZWL 72.3
-5.15%
Banana (1kg)
$2.19 €1.96
$1.73 ZWL 45.89
26.59%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.68 €2.40
$1.97 ZWL 52.4
36.04%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.27 €2.93
$1.36 ZWL 36.02
140.44%
Potato (1kg)
$1.90 €1.70
$1.62 ZWL 42.97
17.28%
Onion (1kg)
$1.82 €1.63
$1.56 ZWL 41.56
16.67%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.57 €1.40
$1.15 ZWL 30.54
36.52%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.55 €0.49
$0.99 ZWL 26.30
-44.44%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.69 €5.99
$2.05 ZWL 54.4
226.34%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.99 €7.15
$6.92 ZWL 184
15.46%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.77 €1.59
$1.24 ZWL 32.88
42.74%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.35 €2.11
$1.92 ZWL 51.0
22.40%
🚌 Getting Around
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.91 €1.71
$0.98 ZWL 26.06
94.90%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$43.44 €38.90
$39.26 ZWL 1,043
10.65%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.62 €5.03
$2.92 ZWL 77.7
92.47%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.71 €1.54
$1.97 ZWL 52.3
-13.20%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.64 €30.12
$5.04 ZWL 134
567.46%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.03 €1.82
$1.78 ZWL 47.24
14.04%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.3K €31.6K
$24.8K ZWL 659.1K
42.33%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$36.7K €32.9K
$27.5K ZWL 729.4K
33.87%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$227 €203
$51.2 ZWL 1,361
342.14%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.59 €10.38
$18.70 ZWL 497
-38.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.38 €27.21
$70.0 ZWL 1,860
-56.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.8 €46.37
$42.11 ZWL 1,119
22.94%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$23.70 €21.22
$20.29 ZWL 539
16.81%
Cinema Ticket
$10.60 €9.50
$10.07 ZWL 267
5.26%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$568 €508
$287 ZWL 7,613
98.08%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.5K €10.3K
$7,672 ZWL 203.8K
50.20%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$90.5 €81.1
$19.37 ZWL 515
367.37%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.55 €34.53
$17.62 ZWL 468
118.79%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$103 €91.9
$40.22 ZWL 1,069
155.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$131 €117
$42.91 ZWL 1,140
205.27%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$826 €739
$299 ZWL 7,942
176.17%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$646 €579
$241 ZWL 6,409
167.87%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,400 €1,254
$736 ZWL 19.6K
90.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,054 €944
$557 ZWL 14.8K
89.18%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,662 €3,280
$924 ZWL 24.6K
296.24%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,301 €2,061
$397 ZWL 10.6K
479.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Italy
Zimbabwe
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,886 €1,689
$369 ZWL 9,804
411.15%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.56
13.77
-74.15%

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

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for Zimbabwe: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Italy
$646
Zimbabwe
$241 62.7% $405
Groceries & Markets
Italy
$348
Zimbabwe
$197 43.4% $151
Eating Out
Italy
$279
Zimbabwe
$114 59.1% $165
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Italy
$269
Zimbabwe
$140 47.9% $129
Clothing & Footwear
Italy
$163
Zimbabwe
$54 66.9% $109
Sport & Entertainment
Italy
$73
Zimbabwe
$62 14.7% $11
Getting Around
Italy
$65
Zimbabwe
$56 14.3% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $240 in Zimbabwe. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $399 in Harare.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $363 in Zimbabwe. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 204% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 70% more in Italy.

Public transport is 19% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are about 5.2 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know
🇮🇹 Italy
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
🕒 Local time
21:07 9:07 PM
22:07 10:07 PM
1 h ahead of Italy
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
58,850,717
15,178,979
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.67 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.37 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Italy Zimbabwe 6,910 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Italy
  • Zimbabwe

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 Zimbabwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost difference between Italy and Zimbabwe?
At $1,843 per month in Italy and $864 in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe comes out about 53% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.
Which country is cheaper for everyday spending?
Day-to-day life is cheaper in Zimbabwe: 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.
Which country has higher housing costs?
Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $729 in Italy and $240 in Zimbabwe. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.
Should I move to Italy or to Zimbabwe?
It depends on what you’re after: Zimbabwe wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.

Italy vs other spots: cost of living compared

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