City comparison
Cost of living in Rome vs Madrid
One person needs about €1,777 a month in Rome and €1,909 in Madrid, rent included — Rome is 7% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Madrid the way you live in Rome on €3,000, you need
€3,223/ month net
7% more than today (+€223)
- Rome today
- Basket €1,777 · left over €1,223 (41%)
- Madrid at the matched salary
- Basket €1,909 · left over €1,314 (41%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 157% over in Madrid (adequate) vs 129% in Rome. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇮🇹 Rome
Cheap transport and cheap coffee; bureaucracy and low local wages are the trade-off.
Monthly budget: €1,777
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Madrid
Spain's highest local salaries and endless nightlife, with rents climbing fast in the centre.
Monthly budget: €1,909
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Rome or Madrid?
On salary, Madrid pays more for tech roles (€3,000 versus €2,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,091 in Madrid at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,150 in Rome against €1,300 in Madrid. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Rome at 72 and Madrid at 80 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.