City comparison
Cost of living in Tokyo vs Rome
One person needs about €1,794 a month in Tokyo and €1,777 in Rome, rent included — Rome is 1% 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 Rome the way you live in Tokyo on €3,000, you need
€2,972/ month net
1% less than today (-€28)
- Tokyo today
- Basket €1,794 · left over €1,206 (40%)
- Rome at the matched salary
- Basket €1,777 · left over €1,195 (40%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 129% over in Rome (tight) vs 195% in Tokyo. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇯🇵 Tokyo
Astonishing value for a mega-city: cheap food, cheap transport, tiny apartments.
Monthly budget: €1,794
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇮🇹 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
Should you move to Tokyo or Rome?
On salary, Tokyo pays more for tech roles (€3,500 versus €2,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,706 in Tokyo at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,150 in Tokyo against €1,150 in Rome. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Tokyo at 72 and Rome at 72 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.