Cost of living calculator

Everyday monthly budget of a household, city by city, from official surveys.

Every figure in this tool is a published fact, cited with its source, an excerpt and its date; a selection with a missing figure shows “Estimate unavailable for this selection” rather than borrowing another destination's figures.

13 cities estimated from sourced, published figures.

Estimate

Estimated budget: it depends on your household, your housing and your lifestyle, and is not a quote. The expenses not included are listed with the result. Read our method · Terms of use and disclaimers

City

Household

Floor area (m²)

Suggested area for this household; you can change it.

Children are assumed to be aged 6 to 10 (public transport fares).

Estimated monthly budget in Milan

Couple · monthly amounts in EUR

Total per month: €2,889
Total per year: €34,667

Breakdown of the estimated budget in Milan
Item	Per month (EUR)
Rent — 60 m²Market rent, excluding service charges.	€1,344
Public transportMonthly passes on the urban network, one per person.	€78
Other everyday spendingFood, clothing, household goods, health, communications, leisure, restaurants… from the official household spending survey.	€1,467
Energy, water and service chargesElectricity, heating, water and service charges: not published separately by the surveys used.	Not included
Total per month	€2,889

Assumptions and limits

Everyday budget of a settled household renting its home: no moving costs, deposit or agency fees.
Not included: energy, water and service charges, a car, private health insurance, school fees, taxes, travel.
“Other everyday spending” is that of an average resident household in the survey area: all housing and all transport are taken out, then the amount is scaled to the size of your household (OECD square-root scale) and updated with the official price index.
Expatriates often spend more than an average resident household (restaurants, schools, insurance): treat this result as a realistic floor, not a ceiling.
For this calculation: household size coefficient 0.943, price update coefficient 1.046.
Rent: average asking rent in listings for the municipality of Milan (index from a major property portal); rents actually signed are often slightly lower.
Spending: Italian national average (ISTAT); living standards in Milan are higher than the national average.
Children travel free on the ATM network up to the age of 14.

Sources and verification dates

1.
Milan (municipality): average asking rent per m² per month, idealista index (September 2026) : €22.4
« Settembre 2026 | 22,4 €/m2 | + 0,5 % | + 0,9 % | - 0,5 % »
idealista.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
2.
Milan: ATM standard monthly urban pass, all passengers (2026) : €39
« ABBONAMENTI URBANI ORDINARI E AGEVOLATI PER SPOSTARSI A MILANO … Abbonamenti urbani ORDINARI Mensile 1 mese solare Tutti i viaggiatori 39 € »
atm.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
3.
Italy: average monthly consumption expenditure per household (ISTAT, 2025) : €2,782.36
« SPESA MEDIA MENSILE 2.755,09 0,6 2,782,36 0,6 »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
4.
Italy: monthly household expenditure on housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, imputed rents included (ISTAT, 2025) : €1,000.8
« Abitazione, acqua, elettricità, gas e altri combustibili (**), di cui: 984,42 0,8 1.000,80 0,9 »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
5.
Italy: monthly household expenditure on transport (ISTAT, 2025) : €294.06
« Trasporti 297,22 1,4 294,06 1,6 »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
6.
Italy: average number of people per household (ISTAT, 2023) : 2.25
« Da 26 milioni nel 2023 a 26,9 milioni nel 2043 (+3,5%), con un numero medio di componenti in calo da 2,25 a 2,08 »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
7.
Italy: NIC index, 2025 annual average (2025=100) : 100
« il coefficiente di raccordo da base 2015=100 a base 2025=100 per indice NIC pari a 1,226. »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026
8.
Italy: NIC index, September 2026, provisional (2025=100) : 104.6
« Settembre (provvisorio) 104,6 +0,7 +4,2 104,8 +2,0 +4,1 »
istat.itVerified on Oct 13, 2026

Compare the estimated cities

Same household (Couple) and same floor area, in euros per month.

		Rent	Transport and other spending	Detail
Kuala Lumpur	€1,323	€652*	€671
Mexico City	€1,650	€962	€689
Athens	€2,048	€762	€1,286
Porto	€2,189	€1,140	€1,049
Valencia	€2,539	€978	€1,561
Lisbon	€2,555	€1,506	€1,049
Barcelona	€2,767	€1,206	€1,561
Milan	€2,889	€1,344	€1,545	Shown
Madrid	€2,985	€1,404	€1,581
Nicosia	€3,037	€700*	€2,337
Paris	€3,490	€1,428	€2,062
Limassol	€3,895	€1,550*	€2,345
Geneva	€4,632	€1,372	€3,260

Sort by

Kuala Lumpur€1,323
Rent
€652*
Transport and other spending
€671
Detail
Mexico City€1,650
Rent
€962
Transport and other spending
€689
Detail
Athens€2,048
Rent
€762
Transport and other spending
€1,286
Detail
Porto€2,189
Rent
€1,140
Transport and other spending
€1,049
Detail
Valencia€2,539
Rent
€978
Transport and other spending
€1,561
Detail
Lisbon€2,555
Rent
€1,506
Transport and other spending
€1,049
Detail
Barcelona€2,767
Rent
€1,206
Transport and other spending
€1,561
Detail
Milan€2,889
Rent
€1,344
Transport and other spending
€1,545
Detail
Shown
Madrid€2,985
Rent
€1,404
Transport and other spending
€1,581
Detail
Nicosia€3,037
Rent
€700*
Transport and other spending
€2,337
Detail
Paris€3,490
Rent
€1,428
Transport and other spending
€2,062
Detail
Limassol€3,895
Rent
€1,550*
Transport and other spending
€2,345
Detail
Geneva€4,632
Rent
€1,372
Transport and other spending
€3,260
Detail

* Rent for a typical home: the chosen floor area is not used for this city.