City comparison
Cost of living in Rome vs Málaga
One person needs about €1,777 a month in Rome and €1,380 in Málaga, rent included — Málaga is 22% 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 Málaga the way you live in Rome on €3,000, you need
€2,330/ month net
22% less than today (-€670)
- Rome today
- Basket €1,777 · left over €1,223 (41%)
- Málaga at the matched salary
- Basket €1,380 · left over €950 (41%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 152% over in Málaga (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
🇪🇸 Málaga
The current favourite of remote workers: 300 sunny days, fast fibre, and Barcelona living for 40% less.
Monthly budget: €1,380
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 286 community reports
Should you move to Rome or Málaga?
On salary, Rome pays more for tech roles (€2,300 versus €2,100 a month), so the money left over after costs is €720 in Málaga at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,150 in Rome against €850 in Málaga. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Rome at 72 and Málaga at 88 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.