Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kyoto vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Kyoto is 22.3% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 51.1% less in Kyoto
Groceries
pay 9.0% more in Kyoto
Transportation
pay 8.3% more in Kyoto
Housing
pay 44.1% less in Kyoto
Childcare
pay 37.4% less in Kyoto
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.1% less in Kyoto
Clothing
pay 32.9% less in Kyoto

The cost of groceries and transportation in Kyoto are more expensive than in Rome. Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Kyoto.

Kyoto vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kyoto instead of Rome, you would:

pay 51.1% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Kyoto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€14.93
$10.02
¥1,561
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
€9.95
$5.35
¥833
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
€2.13
$0.92
¥144

Improve prices ·

pay 9.0% more for groceries

 
Rome
Kyoto
Bread
1 loaf
$2.21
€1.89
$1.70
¥265
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.54
€8.13
$4.57
¥711
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
€6.06
$6.67
¥1,039

Improve prices ·

pay 8.3% more for transportation

 
Rome
Kyoto
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.66
€6.53
$4.43
¥690
Monthly public transit pass $40.88
€34.83
$66.82
¥10,408
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,199.74
€24,878.35
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419

Improve prices ·

pay 44.1% less for housing

 
Rome
Kyoto
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$32.12
€27.36
$32.58
¥5,074
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,436.63
€1,224.02
$570.06
¥88,790
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $927.65
€790.37
$318.25
¥49,569

Improve prices ·

pay 37.4% less for childcare

 
Rome
Kyoto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $568.18
€484.09
$434.36
¥67,653
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,951.36
€9,330.63
$5,345.93
¥832,656

Improve prices ·

pay 8.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Kyoto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€4.98
$3.34
¥520
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.01
€1.72
$3.20
¥498
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.18
€6.12
$4.01
¥624

Improve prices ·

pay 32.9% less for clothing

 
Rome
Kyoto
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.76
€69.66
$44.33
¥6,904
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.76
€32.18
$30.91
¥4,814
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.68
€75.56
$50.12
¥7,806

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Italy vs. Japan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Italy and Japan.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kyoto or Rome. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.