Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rome and Cambridge, New Zealand

For one person, living costs are similar in Rome and in Cambridge: $1,997 and $2,066 a month, rent and utilities included.

96

Cost of Living Index in Rome
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Rome Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index

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Rome

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,997

/mo nomad

Cambridge

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,066

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rome and in Cambridge

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,997 in Rome versus $2,066 in Cambridge.

Rome $1,997
Cambridge $2,066

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,132 in Rome versus $2,874 in Cambridge.

Rome $3,132
Cambridge $2,874

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,266 in Rome versus $3,682 in Cambridge.

Rome $4,266
Cambridge $3,682

Living in Rome costs roughly 3% less than in Cambridge, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rome 47% above, Cambridge 52% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.44 €14.77

$14.04 NZ$25.01

17.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 €61.0

$67.6 NZ$120

0.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €10.01

$9.32 NZ$16.62

19.53%

Cappuccino

$2.02 €1.82

$3.45 NZ$6.15

-41.45%

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

$3.00 €2.70

$2.00 NZ$3.56

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.97 NZ$3.51

-24.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.11

$6.10 NZ$10.87

-6.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 €6.08

$6.86 NZ$12.23

-1.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.58 NZ$2.82

6.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 €1.96

$2.18 NZ$3.88

0.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.08 €2.77

$1.89 NZ$3.37

62.96%

Eggs

$4.74 €4.26

$5.99 NZ$10.68

-20.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.65 €13.16

$8.57 NZ$15.28

70.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.45 €11.18

$9.81 NZ$17.49

26.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.48 €17.50

$13.13 NZ$23.39

48.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 €2.34

$2.58 NZ$4.61

0.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 €2.11

$2.20 NZ$3.91

6.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 €2.09

$2.96 NZ$5.27

-21.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 €2.10

$5.85 NZ$10.43

-60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 €1.22

$2.09 NZ$3.73

-34.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 €1.45

$1.54 NZ$2.75

4.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.18

$2.30 NZ$4.10

-42.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 €0.46

$1.09 NZ$1.95

-53.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.03 €6.32

$25.73 NZ$45.85

-72.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$10.16 NZ$18.12

-44.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.48

$3.36 NZ$5.99

-51.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 €2.26

$4.00 NZ$7.14

-37.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.47

$2.88 NZ$5.13

-43.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.58 €35.56

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.77 €6.08

$2.24 NZ$3.99

202.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.48

$2.01 NZ$3.58

-17.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.02 €30.56

$32.01 NZ$57.1

6.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.73 NZ$3.08

25.43%

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

$35.4K €31.8K

$27.0K NZ$48.1K

30.97%

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

$36.6K €32.9K

$22.6K NZ$40.3K

62.00%

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

$210 €188

$102 NZ$182

105.77%

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

$11.53 €10.36

$26.30 NZ$46.87

-56.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.32 €29.03

$51.4 NZ$91.6

-37.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.0 €58.4

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.53 €21.14

Cinema Ticket

$11.32 €10.17

$13.94 NZ$24.84

-18.79%

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

$488 €438

$666 NZ$1,187

-26.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K €15.0K

$19.8K NZ$35.2K

-15.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 €63.9

$62.1 NZ$111

14.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.84 €33.09

$37.70 NZ$67.2

-2.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.4 €76.7

$94.6 NZ$169

-9.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$107 NZ$191

19.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,297 €1,165

$582 NZ$1,037

122.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$875 €786

$1,130 NZ$2,014

-22.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,584 €2,321

$1,215 NZ$2,165

112.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,739 €1,562

$1,489 NZ$2,654

16.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,477 €7,615

$4,539 NZ$8,089

86.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,239 €2,910

$4,027 NZ$7,176

-19.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,948 €1,750

$2,569 NZ$4,579

-24.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.52

-41.33%

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

Last update for Rome: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cambridge: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rome

$875 43.8%

Cambridge

$1.1K 54.7% 29.1% $255

Groceries & Markets

Rome

$326 16.3%

Cambridge

$327 15.8% 0.4% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rome

$254 12.7%

Cambridge

$180 8.7% 29.2% $74

Eating Out

Rome

$249 12.5%

Cambridge

$242 11.7% 3% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Rome

$145 7.2%

Cambridge

$136 6.6% 6.2% $8.9

Sport & Entertainment

Rome

$88 4.4%

Cambridge

$28 * 1.4% 68.2% $60

Getting Around

Rome

$61 3.1%

Cambridge

$24 * 1.2% 61.1% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,297 in Rome and $582 in Cambridge. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 32% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Rome vs $68 in Cambridge for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $326 vs $327 per month, with Rome cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Rome

🇳🇿 Cambridge

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

06:48 6:48 AM

12 h ahead of Rome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,848,084 Capital

21,400

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rome Cambridge 18,500 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Rome
Cambridge

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

Rome vs Cambridge: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rome is cheaper overall, especially in utilities. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Rome. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,297 in Rome versus $582 in Cambridge. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $488 in Rome versus $666 in Cambridge. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,997 per month in Rome versus $2,066 in Cambridge – a 3% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Rome wins on affordability, Cambridge on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.