Cost of living in Malta: building an honest monthly budget

Most cost-of-living figures for Malta online are averages collected by private sites, and they age quickly. A better approach is to build your budget from the numbers the Maltese state itself publishes: regulated utility tariffs, bus fares, the rules your residence permit sets on income and insurance, and the National Statistics Office's monthly price indices. This guide walks through each line of a monthly budget in euro and shows where to check the current figure.

Start with the permit's own numbers

Your residence route sets a floor for your budget before you spend anything.

• Nomad Residence Permit. Residency Malta requires a gross annual income of €42,000. Applications filed before 1 April 2024 were assessed at €32,400.
• Health insurance. Identità requires non-EU applicants applying for employment purposes, and family members, to hold a health insurance policy with minimum cover of €100,000, including hospitalisation in Malta. Price this before you commit, since your age and the policy terms drive the premium.
• Retirement Programme. The Malta Retirement Programme sets a minimum annual tax of €7,500, plus €500 per dependant. For a retiree, that is a fixed annual line.

Housing

Rent is the largest line in most budgets, and the NSO tracks it. In the Retail Price Index for September 2026, the Housing Index rose 7.3% year on year, the highest of the ten groups, and Rent rose 3.4%. Materials for house maintenance rose 7.2%.

The Private Residential Leases Act shapes how rent works:

• a long private residential lease cannot run for less than one year;
• without three months' registered-letter notice from the landlord, the lease is renewed for a further year;
• leases are registered with the Housing Authority.

Ask for the rent, the deposit and any other charges in writing, and confirm registration. Use listings for current asking rents in the towns you are considering, since no official index publishes a rent per square metre for each locality.

Electricity

Electricity tariffs are regulated, and the Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) publishes them. The approved tariffs applicable from 31 March 2014, still listed in the regulator's page last updated in November 2025, are in bands of cumulative annual consumption, including VAT.

Residential tariff:

| Band | Annual kWh | €/kWh | |---|---|---| | 1 | 0 to 2,000 | 0.1047 | | 2 | 2,001 to 6,000 | 0.1298 | | 3 | 6,001 to 10,000 | 0.1607 | | 4 | 10,001 to 20,000 | 0.3420 | | 5 | over 20,000 | 0.6076 |

A single-phase service carries an annual service fee of €65. REWS also lists a separate domestic tariff, with higher rates per band (0.1365 in Band 1, rising to 0.6860 in Band 5). Check which tariff your account is billed on, because the difference is significant.

Worked example. A household on the residential tariff using 3,000 kWh a year pays 2,000 kWh at €0.1047 (€209.40) plus 1,000 kWh at €0.1298 (€129.80), plus the €65 service fee: about €404 a year, or roughly €34 a month. Air conditioning in summer pushes use into higher bands.

### Moving into an existing supply

ARMS, the billing company, transfers an existing account from the owner to the tenant, and states that this requires a deposit of €466. Budget it as a one-off cost.

Water

REWS publishes residential water tariffs made up of a variable charge and a fixed service charge:

• first tier, up to 33 m³ per person per year: €1.3965 per m³;
• second tier, above that: €5.1395 per m³;
• service charge: €59 a year.

Worked example. Two people using 66 m³ in a year stay in the first tier and pay about €92 for water plus the €59 service charge, around €151 a year. Charges are pro rata when meters are read for a period shorter or longer than a year.

Transport

Malta Public Transport lists a single journey at €2.00 in the winter period (18 October 2026 to 12 June 2027) and €2.50 in summer, valid for two hours including transfers. Under the government's free public transport scheme, residents with a personalised tallinja card ride scheduled routes free. The card costs €25 for adults.

For most residents who use the bus, transport costs fall close to zero once the card arrives. If you plan to drive, budget for a car, insurance, fuel and parking separately.

Food

The NSO measured food inflation at 3.4% in the RPI for September 2026, and the Food Index made the largest contribution to overall inflation (+0.72 points). The NSO's RPI Food Index includes restaurants and takeaways. Build your grocery line from shop prices in your area, then increase it in line with these releases.

Overall inflation

Two measures matter:

• RPI: 2.9% in September 2026, up from 2.6% in August, with a 12-month moving average of 2.6%.
• HICP: 2.4% in September 2026, up from 2.0%, with a 12-month moving average of 2.3%. The largest upward contribution came from restaurants and accommodation services; information and communication pulled it down as mobile phone prices fell.

Water, electricity, gas and fuels showed 0.0% annual inflation in the RPI in September 2026, because prices of all subcomponents were unchanged. Regulated utilities are the most predictable part of a Malta budget.

If you live on Gozo

Living on Gozo adds the ferry to your budget. Gozo Channel lists foot-passenger fares of €4.65 standard and €1.15 for Gozitan permanent residents with a valid identity card, and €15.70 standard for a car and driver against €8.15 for Gozo residents. Senior permanent residents of Gozo travel free as foot passengers. If you commute to Malta several days a week, multiply the resident fare by your crossings and add it to the transport line.

Why the RPI and HICP differ

The two indices answer different questions. The RPI uses ten groups, and its Food Index includes restaurant services and takeaways. The HICP follows the EU's ECOICOP classification, with 13 divisions, and treats restaurants and accommodation as a separate division. That is why food and restaurant inflation appear in different lines in the two releases. For a household budget, the RPI's group figures are the easier match to rent, food and utilities, and the HICP is the figure to use when comparing Malta with other EU countries.

A monthly budget template

Fill in each line from the sources below:

1. Rent, from listings, under a registered lease.
2. Electricity, from your expected kWh and the REWS bands.
3. Water, from household size and the REWS tiers.
4. Health insurance, from quotes meeting the €100,000 minimum.
5. Transport, €0 on buses with a tallinja card, or car costs.
6. Food, from local prices, adjusted with NSO releases.
7. Phone and internet, from operator price lists.
8. One-off costs: ARMS deposit, rent deposit, permit fees.

Compare the total with the income your permit requires and leave a margin for inflation.

Common questions

How much is electricity in Malta? REWS lists residential tariffs from €0.1047 per kWh for the first 2,000 kWh a year, rising by band, plus a €65 annual service fee for a single-phase supply.

How fast is rent rising in Malta? In the NSO's RPI for September 2026, rent rose 3.4% year on year and the overall Housing Index rose 7.3%.

Is public transport free in Malta? Residents with a personalised tallinja card ride scheduled buses free. Others pay €2.00 in winter or €2.50 in summer per journey.

What income does the Malta nomad permit need? Residency Malta requires a gross annual income of €42,000.