Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Italy

Name: Italy
Address: IT

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.

58

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,206

/mo nomad

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Sao Tome and Principe costs about 35% less than in Italy on average.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.86 STN 195

$20.46 €18.38

-56.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.95 STN 967

$79.5 €71.4

-44.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.60 STN 189

$11.15 €10.02

-22.87%

Cappuccino

$2.40 STN 52.7

$2.04 €1.83

17.65%

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

$1.81 STN 39.89

$3.10 €2.78

-41.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 STN 24.76

$1.40 €1.26

-19.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.74 STN 38.32

$5.51 €4.95

-68.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 STN 41.45

$5.74 €5.16

-67.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 STN 33.69

$1.57 €1.41

-2.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 STN 33.44

$2.38 €2.14

-36.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 STN 41.10

$2.90 €2.60

-35.52%

Eggs

$4.40 STN 96.7

$4.07 €3.66

8.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.33 STN 425

$17.44 €15.67

10.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.32 STN 425

$12.56 €11.28

53.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.09 STN 464

$20.17 €18.12

4.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 STN 83.6

$2.58 €2.32

47.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.65

$2.19 €1.97

-19.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.8

$2.68 €2.41

33.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 STN 78.0

$3.27 €2.93

8.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.87 STN 63.2

$1.90 €1.71

51.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 STN 52.4

$1.82 €1.63

30.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 STN 11.68

$1.57 €1.41

-66.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 STN 45.40

$0.55 €0.49

274.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.19 STN 48.09

$6.69 €6.01

-67.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 STN 176

$7.99 €7.17

-0.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 STN 32.25

$1.77 €1.59

-16.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 STN 36.91

$2.35 €2.11

-28.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 STN 29.52

$1.91 €1.72

-29.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €39.02

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 STN 36.10

$5.62 €5.05

-70.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 STN 58.6

$1.71 €1.54

55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.81 STN 304

$33.64 €30.22

-58.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 STN 38.37

$2.03 €1.82

-14.29%

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

$24.4K STN 535.9K

$35.3K €31.7K

-31.01%

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

$31.6K STN 694.4K

$36.7K €33.0K

-14.11%

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

$224 STN 4,934

$227 €204

-1.02%

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

$30.91 STN 680

$11.59 €10.41

166.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.8 STN 1,447

$30.38 €27.29

116.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.11 STN 750

$51.8 €46.51

-34.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.43 STN 560

$23.70 €21.29

7.30%

Cinema Ticket

$20.50 STN 451

$10.60 €9.52

93.40%

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

$228 STN 5,021

$568 €510

-59.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,158 STN 47.5K

$11.5K €10.4K

-81.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €81.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.2 STN 1,653

$38.55 €34.63

94.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.2

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.67 STN 411

$131 €118

-85.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$288 STN 6,339

$826 €742

-65.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,300

$646 €580

-69.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$920 STN 20.2K

$1,400 €1,258

-34.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 STN 9,606

$1,054 €947

-58.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,861 STN 40.9K

$3,662 €3,290

-49.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,125 STN 24.8K

$2,301 €2,067

-51.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$441 STN 9,709

$1,886 €1,694

-76.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

3.56

107.30%

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

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

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Italy

$348 18.9% 13.4% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$321 26.6%

Italy

$269 14.6% 16.3% $52

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.2%

Italy

$646 35.1% 231% $451

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$150 12.4%

Italy

$279 15.1% 86.2% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$75 6.2%

Italy

$73 4% 2.8% $2.1

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Italy

$163 8.9% 287% $121

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$20 * 1.7%

Italy

$65 3.5% 221% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

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

National salary averages: $259 in Sao Tome and Principe, $1,890 in Italy. 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

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇮🇹 Italy

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

17:10 5:10 PM

1 h ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

58,850,717

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.55 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

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).

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

USD to STN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Sao Tome and Principe
Italy

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

Sao Tome and Principe vs Italy: 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.