A new cost-of-living index puts Italy’s business capital well below London, Dublin and Amsterdam for people who can work from anywhere.

Milan has a reputation as one of Italy’s most expensive cities. Compared with other major European hubs, though, it looks like a bargain, according to the 2026 Working Abroad Index from Dutch digital bank bunq.

The index compares monthly living and remote-working costs across 75 cities worldwide. It covers rent, groceries, utilities, public transport, mobile and home internet plans, and the price of a coworking desk. Milan comes in at roughly €1,970 a month before workspace costs, or just over €2,200 with a coworking membership included.

That puts it far below its northern European rivals. A remote worker in London needs about €3,288 a month, not counting a desk. Dublin costs around €2,805 and Amsterdam around €2,775. By bunq’s calculations, Milan is about 40% cheaper than London, 30% cheaper than Dublin and 29% cheaper than Amsterdam. It even slightly undercuts Paris, where the index puts monthly costs at €2,012.

Where Italy Wins and Where It Doesn’t

Italy’s edge comes mainly from everyday costs other than rent. Getting around is cheap: public transport averages about €37 a month, roughly 44% below the European average. Household bills are also lower. Utilities, mobile and internet together cost around €234 a month, against a European norm of about €280.

Two items work against Italy. Groceries are expensive, and Milan and Florence rank among the priciest European cities for food shopping, at €412 and €408 a month respectively. Coworking space also costs more, averaging €240 a month in Italian cities compared with €192 across Europe.

Milan isn’t even the cheapest Italian option in the index. Florence comes in at a little over €1,700 a month excluding coworking, and Rome is the most affordable of the three, at just over €1,500.

The Global Picture

The most expensive places on the list are mostly American. New York tops the ranking at about €4,068 a month, followed by San Francisco at around €3,759 and then Boston. London is the highest-ranked European city, in fourth place. Los Angeles, at about €3,003, and Singapore, at about €2,824, also appear in the top ten, with Dublin rounding it out.

According to Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq, remote work has loosened the link between where people live and where their employer is based. Wilson added that the index was created to help professionals weigh the economic and lifestyle benefits offered by different cities.

How to Make the Most of a Tight Budget

For those who work remotely and want to stay in Europe on a limited budget, the best opportunities are found in the eastern and southeastern parts of the continent. Bucharest is the most affordable European city on the index, at about 926 euros per month, and Sofia, Budapest, and Athens are also listed as affordable options. Riga, at about 1,092 euros, and Marseille, at about 1,423 euros, are mid-range alternatives closer to Western Europe.

Further afield, costs drop sharply. Chiang Mai in Thailand is the cheapest city worldwide, where just over €600 a month covers living and working. Ho Chi Minh City follows at about €658, then Kuala Lumpur at €791, Bangkok at €813 and Oaxaca, Mexico, at €866.

Source: bunq Working Abroad Index 2026, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore.