A room with friends. A place of your own. School runs, coffee stops, the occasional night that goes on too long. Malta does not cost everyone the same. Tell us how you live. See what that life might cost.
It started with a simple cost-of-living simulation. Not a spreadsheet to fill. A life to imagine. This is its next chapter.
No rent or supermarket figures to guess. Start from an example, then change the choices. All examples are illustrative, not recommended lifestyles.
Not a confidence interval. Actual costs can fall outside it.
Pinned only during this page visit. Change your choices above to see the difference.
Not instructions to give up the things you enjoy. A way to see which decisions actually move the monthly total.
A deposit, an agency fee, temporary accommodation, flights and settling in can arrive before the first payslip. None is included in the monthly total.
Planning prompts, not a personalised financial recommendation. Neither figure includes relocation costs, debt or savings targets.
Moving is not won by a country with the cheapest coffee. The right question is whether the work, the place and the life fit together.
English is widely used in business. A relevant role, an international circle and access to the coast may make Malta a good fit. Value those advantages only if they matter to your actual week.
Working in Malta / official contextHousing, construction next door, traffic, summer heat and the limits of a small island belong in the decision too. Visit the neighbourhood at the times you would actually use it. Test the route; do not measure it only on a map.
Understand your residence routeA local job offer and an overseas income can buy very different versions of Malta. Compare the net income you will actually receive with the whole household’s costs, not a headline gross salary.
Turn gross into a net-pay estimateCan you reach work, school and the shops? Is the home quiet enough? What happens without a car? Where would your friends be? The holiday version of a place is not the version you live every day.
Explore the FreeMalta AtlasThe preliminary 2025 national household-consumption price index, EU27 = 100, supplies context. It does not price a specific city, a new lease or your personal lifestyle.
A reason to look: English-language work may reduce the adjustment.
The reality check: Check the actual role, housing, route to work and whether island life suits you.
A reason to look: A lower national price index is a reason to investigate.
The reality check: Do not treat Lisbon or the Algarve as the national average. Check local pay and language requirements.
A reason to look: A similar national price index invites a city-level comparison.
The reality check: Compare an actual neighbourhood, salary and commute. Madrid, a coastal city and a smaller town are not the same life.
A reason to look: Another island option with a slightly lower national index.
The reality check: Choose the city first. Check the job, housing and how you would travel rather than assuming the island matches Malta.
Source: Eurostat data published by Statistics Norway, 19 June 2026. These are price levels, not inflation rates. A lower index does not imply higher wages or more disposable income. No country multiplier is applied to this simulation.
Read the comparable national data Check living and working conditions / EURESRising costs are real. But “wages did not rise” is too broad. NSO’s published average basic-pay figures rose in nominal terms; that is not proof that every worker’s pay kept up with their own housing costs.
Annual gross basic salary, roughly €1,426 per month when divided by twelve.
NSO / historical releaseMonthly gross basic salary. An average, not a median or take-home pay.
NSO / current releaseAnnual general price inflation. Not the cumulative ten-year rise, and not a new-rental-contract index.
NSO / price releaseThe salary snapshots span ten years but are not a matched-person wage series. Population, job mix and survey methodology changed; the LFS changed methodology in 2021. Do not calculate a precise real-wage gain from these cards. The 2026 figure is provisional.
“Did my take-home pay keep up with the home I now need?” Registered rents, advertised rents and old leases answer different questions. The Housing Authority’s 2024 H1 report recorded median two-bedroom apartment rents of €1,300 in Sliema and €800 in St Paul’s Bay. Those dated registered-contract figures are context, not a claim about today’s listings.
Read the housing evidenceReviewed 4 October 2026. The following amounts are FreeMalta editorial planning bands. Official sources support the context and rules, not every unit price. Prices are not scraped live.
| Area | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sliema / St Julian’s | €1050–1700anchor €1350 | €1300–2100anchor €1650 | €1600–2600anchor €2000 |
| Gżira / Msida / central Malta | €800–1300anchor €1050 | €1000–1650anchor €1300 | €1200–1900anchor €1550 |
| South / inland Malta | €650–1100anchor €850 | €800–1350anchor €1050 | €950–1550anchor €1250 |
| St Paul’s Bay / northern Malta | €750–1200anchor €950 | €900–1450anchor €1150 | €1100–1750anchor €1400 |
| Gozo | €550–1000anchor €750 | €650–1150anchor €900 | €800–1350anchor €1050 |
Shared-room bands / lower, anchor, higher: Sliema / St Julian’s: €450 / €650 / €850; Gżira / Msida / central Malta: €350 / €500 / €650; South / inland Malta: €300 / €425 / €550; St Paul’s Bay / northern Malta: €325 / €475 / €625; Gozo: €275 / €375 / €500. Owner and family modes model no rent; mortgage, payments to relatives and major repairs are excluded.
Food baskets / first adult / lower, anchor, higher EUR: value 210 / 260 / 320; balanced 270 / 330 / 400; premium 360 / 440 / 550. Includes ordinary household basics; excludes special dietary or medical needs. No precise supermarket basket is claimed.
Per adult: coffee 2.20 / 3 / 4 each, lunch 9 / 13 / 18 each, dinner 20 / 32 / 50 each, drinks 4 / 6 / 10 each. Weekly frequency × 52/12. Cigarettes: 5.50 / 6 / 7 per 20 × daily frequency × 365/12. These are venue and brand assumptions, not current quoted menus.
Transport: one car 140 / 220 / 340 monthly running allowance, without acquisition, finance, depreciation or parking. No free-travel card: 30 / 50 / 75 per adult; active personalised cards on eligible buses: 0. Taxi journeys 8 / 12 / 20 each, household-wide. Special and inter-island travel excluded.
School tuition / child / month-equivalent: state 0; independent 400 / 650 / 950; international 850 / 1250 / 1650. Child extras 40 / 80 / 140 each. School meals, trips, uniforms, childcare and admission costs can be additional. No sibling discounts assumed.
Household utilities / non-shared: 45 / 65 / 100 plus 15 / 20 / 30 per extra person; shared: 35 / 50 / 75 per adult plus 10 / 15 / 25 per child. Regular AC adds 15 / 30 / 55 annualised. Owner upkeep adds 50 / 90 / 150 plus 10 / 20 / 30 per bedroom; family upkeep share adds 20 / 40 / 80. No ARMS tariff calculation.
Connectivity: non-shared household home internet 25 / 35 / 50 plus mobile 12 / 20 / 30 per adult. Shared internet share 10 / 15 / 20 plus mobile 15 / 20 / 30 per adult. Bills included in a real lease may mean overlap; the model keeps them separate.
Extras / month: gym 30 / 50 / 80, care 25 / 45 / 80 and health cover 25 / 55 / 110 per adult; one pet 40 / 75 / 130 and cleaner 60 / 90 / 140 per household. Health prices are placeholders, not a policy quote or assessment of coverage.
Debt and mortgage payments, savings, relocation, deposits, agency fees, flights, travel home, childcare, major healthcare bills, major repairs, vehicle purchase and tax or residence advice. A surplus is not proof that a move is affordable. The lower and higher totals add the corresponding assumptions together; they are not a prediction of how often that total occurs.
The simulation gives you a starting point. The next decision needs its own detail.
From gross salary to a take-home estimate.
Open the FreeMalta pageTest a repayment scenario before adding a mortgage to your budget.
Open the FreeMalta pageUnderstand cross-border payment routes.
Open the FreeMalta pageCompare needs and exclusions, not just a monthly price.
Open the FreeMalta pageA lifestyle simulation. Choose your household, housing and routines; FreeMalta supplies visible planning assumptions. You do not enter rent or grocery prices. Optional household net income only compares spending with your budget.
No. The bands are FreeMalta planning assumptions reviewed on 4 October 2026, not live quotes or official averages. Sources establish context and rules; they do not certify every simulated expense.
No. Rent is zero in that scenario, but the model retains your household’s groceries, utilities share, connectivity and selected extras. Any contribution paid to relatives is additional.
No. Owner mode includes a home-upkeep allowance, not mortgage payments. Debt, savings, purchase costs and relocation are outside the monthly total. Use the separate Mortgage Calculator and add your real obligations before deciding.
The country section compares official national price-level indices and decision questions. It does not convert your Malta rent or budget into a quote for Lisbon, Madrid or Limassol. Compare actual offers in the cities you are considering.
The simulation does not save or transmit your income or choices. A pinned comparison exists only during this page visit. The copy button copies spending, not income. Normal website analytics may operate separately.
Not a wall of invented certainty. Follow the evidence, then verify the actual home, service and offer you are considering.
A lifestyle planning tool, not financial, tax, immigration or insurance advice. No eligibility or lending decision is made. No account required. Your choices remain in this page’s memory; they are not placed into analytics events or links by this simulation.
Your modelled monthSee the breakdown