Italy and Greece share a Mediterranean soul — olive oil, wine, ruins, blue water, and the conviction that lunch should last 2 hours. The differences: Italy has more art (Renaissance doesn't exist in Greece), more food diversity (20 cuisines vs 1 national cuisine), and more infrastructure (high-speed trains, autostrada). Greece has better islands (200+ inhabited), cheaper everything, and ancient ruins that are older and less crowded. This guide compares what matters.
Greece is 25-35% cheaper than Italy. Budget Greece: €35-60/day. Budget Italy: €50-80/day. Greek islands: €40-80/day. Italian islands: €60-120/day. Food: Greek taverna meal €8-12 / Italian trattoria €12-18. Hotels: Greece €40-80 / Italy €60-130 (comparable level). Ferries: Greek island-hopping is cheap (€15-40 between islands) and the system is better organized for multi-island trips.
Greece wins. 200+ inhabited islands across 6 archipelagos. Santorini (caldera), Mykonos (nightlife), Crete (a continent), Rhodes (history), Naxos (authentic), Milos (lunar beaches). The island-hopping SYSTEM (frequent ferries, Blue Star/SeaJets, 2-8h between islands) makes 3-4 islands in 2 weeks easy. Italy has: 20 excellent islands (Sardinia, Sicily, Capri, Ischia, Aeolian, Elba) but island-hopping is less systematic — ferries are fewer and routes less connected.
Surprise: tie. Greece has: the Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, Knossos. But: Italy has Rome (the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon), Pompeii/Herculaneum, Agrigento's Greek temples (in ITALY), Segesta, Selinunte, Syracuse. Italy's Greek ruins in Sicily rival Greece's own ruins — and are less crowded. Italy also has Etruscan civilization (pre-Greek, no Greek equivalent).
Italy wins. 20 distinct regional cuisines. 300+ native grape varieties. Pasta is infinite. Gelato has no Greek rival. Greece has: excellent but more uniform cuisine — moussaka, souvlaki, tzatziki, horiatiki everywhere. Greek seafood is outstanding. Greek olive oil rivals Italian. But Italy's culinary diversity is unmatched globally.