Cost of living in Rome: An expat overview (2024)

Is Rome expensive? Plan your budget better by finding out the cost of rent, transport, groceries, and more.

Bas Teunissen

4 minute read

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Updated on 23 Sep 2024

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Living

How much does it cost to live in Rome? That’s probably the question that led you here, so you’ll be happy to know that we’ve found the answer for you! To give you a quick answer, you can expect the living cost in Rome to be €2,100 per month for a single person.

We’ve broken down the cost of living in the Italian capital into 4 primary categories:

• Housing: average rental prices
• Food: groceries and other daily necessities
• Entertainment: going out for lunch, dinner and activities
• Transportation: getting around in Rome

Here’s an overview of what you should be expecting to spend while living in Rome!

While Rome is the capital city of Italy, it's notably cheaper than European cities like Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin. It's even cheaper than Milan! To live comfortably in Rome you need an income of at about €2,200 a month to live in Rome. To live comfortably, you'll have to earn more than €2,500 a month in Rome. As a student in Rome, your cost of living is lower, at around €1,200 per month if you're renting in shared accommodation.

Cost of living overview for one person in Rome

^This is the average rental price for all rental types across Rome

No matter where you choose to live, your rent is most likely going to be your largest monthly expenditure. Rome is a city that depends heavily on its tourism and service industries. This means that the Corona crisis has had an extraordinary impact on the city and this is reflected in the changes in Rome’s rental prices.

How expensive is rent in Rome? Here’s your overview of the average rental prices in Rome:

These prices are just the average rental prices across Rome. Depending on which Roman neighborhood you live in, prices will vary. If you're looking for lower monthly costs, we recommend exploring houses for rent near Rome's outer centre or closer to the residential areas.

If there’s one thing that'll make you adore Italy, it’s the country’s world-famous love for food! So settle down for a nice plate of Roman Carbonara or grab a Supplí as a snack on the go. Either way, when you settle down in Rome, you'll need to adjust the to local grocery and food prices.

While buying your groceries at a Roman supermarket isn’t cheap compared to the rest of Italy, it’s around 10% cheaper than Milan and 7% more expensive than Florence.

Let’s take a look at the average supermarket prices in Rome:

As you'll see next, dairy and fresh vegetables are more expensive compared to other cities in Italy. Thankfully, it’s only a matter of a few cents, but it does add up over the course of a year!

So depending on your lifestyle, you’re looking at around €275 a month in groceries for one person living in Rome.

When in Rome, do as the Romans! Now that you’re at the heart of Italian culture and cuisine, you get to sample this cuisine as often as you can afford to go out for lunch or dinner. There’s also plenty to see and to do in the city, so you need to budget for nights and weekends out on the town. Like any major city, a night out in Rome can range in price hugely. Let’s take a look at what you’ll be up against when making the most of Rome’s leisure and entertainment.

As the nation’s capital and tourist hotspot, Rome has quite a robust public transport system! This means getting around Rome doesn’t necessarily require you to invest in your own vehicle.

Be wary, though, as public transport around popular tourist transactions can also be a hotspot for petty crime, such as pickpocketing. Overall, public transport is relatively affordable, both in and going out of the city.

So, there you have it, all of the costs associated with living in Italy's capital.

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