Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Italy

Rome vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Rome is 12.3% more expensive than Tokyo.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Rome
Groceries: pay 13.0% less in Rome
Transportation: pay 25.9% more in Rome
Housing: pay 12.9% more in Rome
Childcare: pay 42.1% less in Rome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.3% less in Rome
Clothing: pay 33.4% more in Rome

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

Planning a move to Italy? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Rome vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Tokyo	Rome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.59 ¥1,200	$16.80 €14.95	+121.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.06 ¥800	$11.20 €9.97	+121.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ¥259	$2.96 €2.63	+80.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ¥140	$1.48 €1.32	+67.1%
Average			+110.8%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.0% less for groceries

	Tokyo	Rome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 ¥270	$2.22 €1.98	+30.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 ¥836	$7.42 €6.61	+40.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.75 ¥909	$6.49 €5.77	+12.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.26 ¥358	$4.66 €4.15	+105.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.08 ¥487	$5.66 €5.03	+83.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.15 ¥340	$1.17 €1.04	-45.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ¥170	$1.05 €0.94	-1.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 ¥309	$1.09 €0.97	-44.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.39 ¥377	$1.07 €0.96	-55.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 ¥241	$0.64 €0.57	-57.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 ¥231	$0.72 €0.64	-50.9%
Average			-13.0%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.9% more for transportation

	Tokyo	Rome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.08 ¥645	$8.04 €7.16	+96.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.27 ¥9,997	$39.19 €34.88	-38.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,725.38 ¥3M	$35,551.60 €31,642.21	+63.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.47 ¥4,499	$20.16 €17.94	-29.2%
Average			+25.9%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.9% more for housing

	Tokyo	Rome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.33 ¥4,793	$31.87 €28.36	+5.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,280.34 ¥202K	$1,208.81 €1,075.88	-5.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$692.48 ¥109K	$873.39 €777.35	+26.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.45 ¥17,926	$157.13 €139.85	+38.5%
Average			+12.9%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.1% less for childcare

	Tokyo	Rome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,341.43 ¥212K	$487.21 €433.63	-63.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,252.10 ¥3M	$16,862.20 €15,007.96	-7.6%
Average			-42.1%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Tokyo	Rome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ¥600	$5.60 €4.98	+47.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.56 ¥563	$2.07 €1.84	-42.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.92 ¥620	$7.28 €6.48	+85.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$66.31 ¥10,478	$65.43 €58.24	-1.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 ¥1,999	$11.20 €9.97	-11.5%
Average			-0.3%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.4% more for clothing

	Tokyo	Rome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.50 ¥8,770	$71.31 €63.47	+28.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.95 ¥5,207	$36.31 €32.32	+10.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.04 ¥10,278	$83.63 €74.43	+28.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.74 ¥11,178	$123.17 €109.63	+74.1%
Average			+33.4%

Tokyo vs. Rome - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Tokyo vs. Rome

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Rome?

Size Comparison · See true size

Tokyo is about 2.1 times smaller than Rome.

More cost comparisons

Tokyo vs.

Singapore

Tokyo vs.

Los Angeles

Tokyo vs.

Vienna

Tokyo vs.

Bangkok

Tokyo vs.

Warsaw

Tokyo vs.

Toronto

Tokyo vs.

Cairo

Tokyo vs.

Lima

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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

Add prices for Tokyo

Add prices for Rome

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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