✦ Compare
Melbourne vs
Rome
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Melbourne, AU vs Rome, IT at a glance — Rome, IT is 15% cheaper than Melbourne, AU overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,200/mo versus $1,800/mo. Top income tax: 43% vs 45%.
To keep the same standard of living in Rome, IT, you'd need
$63,659 / year
Rome, IT is 15% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Rome, IT vs Melbourne, AU)
- Housing-20%
- Food & groceries-11%
- Transport-25%
- Utilities+11%
- Healthcare-16%
- Goods & services-14%
◎ How Melbourne, AU and Rome, IT compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Melbourne, AU | Rome, IT | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 118 | 100 |
| Housing | 138 | 110 |
| Food | 112 | 100 |
| Transport | 100 | 75 |
| Utilities | 108 | 120 |
| Healthcare | 95 | 80 |
| Goods & services | 116 | 100 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $1,800/mo | $1,200/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $1,350/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $3,400/mo | $2,400/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $9,000 | $6,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $847 | $998 |
| Inexpensive meal | $17 | $15 |
| Monthly transit pass | $110 | $38 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 45% | 43% |
| VAT / sales tax | 10% | 22% |
| Corporate tax | 30% | 24% |
| Capital gains | — | 26% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $3,900/mo | $1,900/mo |
| Minimum wage | $2,600/mo | — |
| GDP per capita | $65,130✓ | $43,309✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | 2.9%✓ | 1.5%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | Yes |
| English proficiency | Native | Low |
| Coworking spaces | 70 | 40 |
| Time zone | UTC+10 | UTC+1 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 73 | 68 |
| Safety index | 68 | 55 |
| Healthcare index | 85 | 78 |
| Pollution index | 30 | 60 |
| Internet speed | 90 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
| Walkability | 78 | 85 |
| Public transport | 80 | 75 |
| Family-friendly | 74 | 64 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 83 yr✓ | 84 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | Moderate |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +20 °C | +8 °C |
| July avg | +10 °C | +25 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 180 | 200 |
| Rainfall / year | 600 mm | 800 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1.5 h | 1 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Australia vs Italy. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Melbourne vs Rome — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Melbourne
Coffee, laneways and a famously liveable city — cheaper than Sydney, with famously changeable weather.
- Currency
- Australian dollar ($ AUD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC+10
- Internet
- 90 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 68/100
- Climate
- ❄ 20°C · ☀ 10°C · 180 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- I · 230V
- Driving
- Left-hand side
- Popular areas
- Fitzroy · St Kilda · Carlton
Good to know before you move to Rome
Living inside an open-air museum — unbeatable food and history, but slow bureaucracy and patchy transit.
- Currency
- Euro (€ EUR)
- Languages
- Italian
- Time zone
- UTC+1
- Internet
- 100 Mbps
- English
- Rarely spoken
- Safety
- 55/100
- Climate
- ❄ 8°C · ☀ 25°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- F/L · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Trastevere · Monti · Prati
Plan your move to Melbourne
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
Sponsored
Plan your move to Rome
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Airport transferWelcome Pickups
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Flight compensationAirHelp
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Melbourne to Rome: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Melbourne to Rome, your cost of living will be roughly 15% cheaper. Rome’s cost-of-living index is 100 versus 118 for Melbourne (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Melbourne cheaper than Rome?
Rome is about 15% cheaper than Melbourne overall — its cost-of-living index is 100 versus 118 for Melbourne.
Which is more expensive, Melbourne or Rome?
Melbourne is more expensive than Rome. Its cost-of-living index is 118 vs 100 (US = 100) — about 18% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Melbourne or Rome?
Rent is cheaper in Rome — about $1,200/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $1,800 in Melbourne.
How much do you need to earn in Rome to live like in Melbourne?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Melbourne is worth about $63,659 in Rome. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Melbourne or Rome?
Italy has the lower top income-tax rate — 43% versus 45% in Australia.
◷ More comparisons from Melbourne
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.