City comparison
Cagliari vs Milan: which is better to live in?
Quick verdict
Cagliari is the cheaper of the two: our estimate for a single person is about €600 a month less than Milan, mostly because of rent. Cagliari has the milder winter (about 15°C vs 8°C average highs in Dec to Feb). Both are in Italy, so the visa rules, taxes and healthcare system are the same: the choice comes down to cost, climate and lifestyle.
Choose Cagliari for
- Beach life
- Affordability
- Nature & green space
- Calm, slower pace
- Lower living costs
Choose Milan for
- Public transport
- Nightlife
- Expat community
- English-friendliness
Cagliari vs Milan at a glance
| Cagliari | Milan | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Italy | Italy |
| Single budget / month | €1,700 | €2,300 |
| Couple budget / month | €2,550 | €3,400 |
| 1-bed rent, center | €750 | €1,550 |
| Winter highs (Dec to Feb) | 15°C / 59°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| Summer highs (Jun to Aug) | 31°C / 88°F | 30°C / 85°F |
| Sunshine (hours/yr) | 2,729 | 2,217 |
| City size | Mid-size city | Capital / metropolis |
| Coastal | Yes | No |
| Direct flights to the US | No | Yes |
| Affordability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Sunny, warm climate | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| English-friendliness | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Safety | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Walkability | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Public transport | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nature & green space | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Beach life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Mountains nearby | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Culture | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Nightlife | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Family life | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Remote-work scene | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Expat community | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Flights home | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
| Calm, slower pace | ●●●●● | ●●●●● |
Cost of living: Cagliari or Milan?
By our estimates, a comfortable mid-range life costs about €1,700 a month for one person in Cagliari and €2,300 in Milan, rent included. For a couple it’s €2,550 vs €3,400, and for a family of four €3,600 vs €5,000.
Rent drives most of the gap: a one-bedroom in the center runs about €750 in Cagliari against €1,550 in Milan, while a monthly transit pass costs - vs €39. Want to plug in your own lifestyle? Use the cost of living calculator.
Climate and weather
Winters average highs of about 15°C (59°F) in Cagliari and 8°C (47°F) in Milan. In summer it’s roughly 31°C vs 30°C. Cagliari gets about 2,729 hours of sunshine a year and Milan about 2,217.
2,729 hours of sunshine a year · 413 mm of rain a year · Source: Cagliari Elmas 1991-2020 normals (NOAA NCEI, Servizio Meteorologico) via the Wikipedia climate table
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15°C / 58°F | 5°C / 42°F |
| Feb | 15°C / 59°F | 5°C / 41°F |
| Mar | 18°C / 64°F | 7°C / 45°F |
| Apr | 20°C / 68°F | 10°C / 49°F |
| May | 24°C / 75°F | 13°C / 56°F |
| Jun | 29°C / 84°F | 17°C / 63°F |
| Jul | 32°C / 89°F | 20°C / 68°F |
| Aug | 32°C / 90°F | 21°C / 69°F |
| Sep | 28°C / 83°F | 18°C / 64°F |
| Oct | 24°C / 75°F | 14°C / 57°F |
| Nov | 19°C / 66°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Dec | 16°C / 60°F | 7°C / 44°F |
2,217 hours of sunshine a year · 752 mm of rain a year · Source: Linate station, 1991-2020 normals via NOAA NCEI, as tabulated on Wikipedia (Milan)
Monthly temperatures in °C and °F
| Month | Avg high | Avg low |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7°C / 45°F | -0°C / 31°F |
| Feb | 10°C / 50°F | 1°C / 33°F |
| Mar | 16°C / 60°F | 4°C / 40°F |
| Apr | 19°C / 67°F | 8°C / 47°F |
| May | 24°C / 75°F | 13°C / 55°F |
| Jun | 28°C / 83°F | 17°C / 63°F |
| Jul | 31°C / 87°F | 19°C / 67°F |
| Aug | 30°C / 86°F | 19°C / 66°F |
| Sep | 26°C / 78°F | 15°C / 59°F |
| Oct | 19°C / 66°F | 10°C / 50°F |
| Nov | 12°C / 54°F | 5°C / 42°F |
| Dec | 7°C / 45°F | 1°C / 33°F |
Daily life
Cagliari is a mid-size city on the coast; Milan is a capital / metropolis. Cagliari is a relaxed, safe seaside capital with an 8 km city beach and some of the Mediterranean's clearest water nearby. It is cheap and calm, but small, very Italian-speaking and poorly connected to North America. Milan is Italy's business and design capital, with the best transit, the strongest English and the highest costs in our Italian set. A comfortable single budget runs about €2,300 a month, and a center one-bed about €1,550. It suits career movers and remote workers who want efficiency over postcard charm.
Living in Cagliari: the upsides and downsides
- Poetto, a long sandy beach inside the city
- Calm, safe and easy to get around on foot
- Lower rents than mainland Italy's big cities
- Downside: Very small international community
- Downside: No direct flights to the US or Canada
Living in Milan: the upsides and downsides
- Italy's deepest job market and corporate base
- Best metro and rail connections in the country
- More English spoken than in most Italian cities
- Downside: Highest rents in Italy in our set
- Downside: Foggy, cold winters and humid, hot summers
Visas and residency
Both cities are in Italy, so you’d use the same residence routes either way:
- Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis) - Citizenship by descent, changing
- Italy Digital Nomad Visa (Remote Worker Visa) - Digital nomad visa, open, €2,125/mo income
- Italy Elective Residency Visa - Retirement visa, open, €2,583/mo income
- Italy Investor Visa (Golden Visa) - Golden visa, open, €250,000 investment
Read the full guides: living in Cagliari and living in Milan.
Related comparisons
- Rome vs Milan
- Milan vs Paris
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- Cagliari vs Palermo
- Cagliari vs Valletta & Sliema
- Milan vs Naples
- Cagliari vs Naples
- Milan vs Palermo
- Cagliari vs Rome
Costs are our estimates for a comfortable mid-range lifestyle; scores are editorial, relative to the 56 cities we cover. Methodology.