Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-mawsil and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-mawsil: $597 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Al-mawsil
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Al-mawsil Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Al-mawsil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$597

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-mawsil and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al-mawsil and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $597 in Al-mawsil versus $1,779 in Athens.

Al-mawsil $597
Athens $1,779

Estimated couple costs with rent: $906 in Al-mawsil versus $2,721 in Athens.

Al-mawsil $906
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,214 in Al-mawsil versus $3,663 in Athens.

Al-mawsil $1,214
Athens $3,663

Living in Al-mawsil costs roughly 66% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al-mawsil is 56% below, Athens is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.17 IQD 6,296

$16.83 €14.99

-75.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.66 IQD 16.1K

$66.0 €58.8

-83.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 IQD 7,265

$11.21 €9.98

-57.09%

Cappuccino

$0.68 IQD 1,029

$4.08 €3.64

-83.33%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 IQD 482

$2.77 €2.47

-88.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 IQD 265

$0.54 €0.48

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.81 IQD 1,224

$5.70 €5.07

-85.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 IQD 2,029

$6.26 €5.58

-78.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.69 IQD 1,037

$1.84 €1.64

-62.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 IQD 976

$1.43 €1.27

-54.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 IQD 872

$2.67 €2.38

-78.28%

Eggs

$0.95 IQD 1,435

$4.95 €4.41

-80.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.22 IQD 10.9K

$15.09 €13.44

-52.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.99 IQD 4,522

$10.99 €9.79

-72.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 IQD 11.9K

$19.77 €17.60

-60.09%

Apples (1kg)

$0.68 IQD 1,031

$2.12 €1.89

-67.92%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 IQD 1,033

$1.98 €1.76

-65.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.49 IQD 738

$1.33 €1.18

-63.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.24 IQD 364

$2.16 €1.92

-88.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.27 IQD 410

$1.06 €0.94

-74.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 IQD 482

$1.15 €1.02

-72.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 911

$1.08 €0.96

-44.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 IQD 779

$0.85 €0.75

-38.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 IQD 2,425

$5.46 €4.86

-70.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.80 IQD 16.3K

$10.03 €8.93

7.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 IQD 2,237

$2.04 €1.82

-27.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 IQD 2,810

$2.38 €2.12

-21.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 IQD 523

$1.35 €1.20

-74.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.92 IQD 39.2K

$30.52 €27.18

-15.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 IQD 2,521

$3.81 €3.39

-56.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 IQD 2,349

$1.03 €0.92

50.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 IQD 6,008

$16.49 €14.68

-75.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.29 IQD 432

$2.34 €2.09

-87.61%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$13.4K IQD 20.2M

$27.8K €24.7K

-51.92%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$15.4K IQD 23.3M

$26.6K €23.7K

-41.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$90.9 IQD 137.3K

$202 €180

-55.06%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$12.11 IQD 18.3K

$26.81 €23.87

-54.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.19 IQD 35.0K

$30.49 €27.14

-23.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.94 IQD 55.8K

$54.1 €48.14

-31.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 IQD 10.1K

$27.40 €24.40

-75.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.54 IQD 9,880

$10.44 €9.30

-37.36%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$295 IQD 445.5K

$568 €505

-48.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$589 IQD 889.3K

$15.2K €13.5K

-96.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.58 IQD 25.1K

$90.7 €80.7

-81.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.00 IQD 19.6K

$39.32 €35.01

-66.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.4 IQD 89.7K

$105 €93.7

-43.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$16.06 IQD 24.3K

$129 €115

-87.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$212 IQD 319.8K

$742 €661

-71.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 IQD 210.0K

$648 €577

-78.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 IQD 564.8K

$1,271 €1,132

-70.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$314 IQD 475.0K

$1,122 €999

-71.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 IQD 1.3M

$3,999 €3,561

-78.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 IQD 741.2K

$3,281 €2,921

-85.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$522 IQD 788.5K

$1,245 €1,109

-58.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

4.44

-43.02%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Al-mawsil: October 31, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Al-mawsil

$139 23.3%

Athens

$648 36.4% 367% $509

Groceries & Markets

Al-mawsil

$133 22.3%

Athens

$316 17.8% 138% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-mawsil

$126 21.1%

Athens

$260 14.6% 106% $133

Eating Out

Al-mawsil

$65 10.8%

Athens

$272 15.3% 320% $207

Sport & Entertainment

Al-mawsil

$50 8.4%

Athens

$75 4.2% 49.8% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Al-mawsil

$47 7.9%

Athens

$164 9.2% 247% $117

Getting Around

Al-mawsil

$37 6.2%

Athens

$45 2.5% 22.1% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $212 in Al-mawsil and $742 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 2.4 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $11 in Al-mawsil vs $66 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $133 vs $316 per month, with Al-mawsil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al-mawsil

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

13:04 1:04 PM

12:04 12:04 PM

1 h behind Al-mawsil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,683,000

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,697 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Al-mawsil Athens 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Al-mawsil
Athens

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al-mawsil vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-mawsil is about 66% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Al-mawsil. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $212 in Al-mawsil versus $742 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $295 in Al-mawsil versus $568 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 138% higher in Athens. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $597 in Al-mawsil versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al-mawsil but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Al-mawsil the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Al-mawsil gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.