Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between An Najaf and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in An Najaf: $569 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$569

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in An Najaf 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 An Najaf and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $569 per month in An Najaf vs $1,779 in Athens, rent included.

An Najaf $569
Athens $1,779

A couple spends around $855 per month in An Najaf vs $2,721 in Athens, rent included.

An Najaf $855
Athens $2,721

A family of three spends $1,142 per month in An Najaf vs $3,663 in Athens, rent included.

An Najaf $1,142
Athens $3,663

An Najaf is about 68% cheaper than Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

An Najaf sits 58% below the global median, while Athens is 32% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.87 IQD 5,854

$16.83 €14.99

-77.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.11 IQD 30.4K

$66.0 €58.8

-69.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.32 IQD 6,530

$11.21 €9.98

-61.46%

Cappuccino

$2.29 IQD 3,457

$4.08 €3.64

-43.87%

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

$0.38 IQD 577

$2.77 €2.47

-86.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 301

$0.54 €0.48

-62.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 IQD 4,840

$5.70 €5.07

-43.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 IQD 3,077

$6.26 €5.58

-67.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 IQD 1,390

$1.84 €1.64

-50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 IQD 1,027

$1.43 €1.27

-52.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 IQD 2,070

$2.67 €2.38

-48.69%

Eggs

$1.61 IQD 2,439

$4.95 €4.41

-67.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.24 IQD 4,897

$15.09 €13.44

-78.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.42 IQD 5,169

$10.99 €9.79

-68.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 IQD 14.0K

$19.77 €17.60

-53.06%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 IQD 1,461

$2.12 €1.89

-54.25%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 IQD 1,350

$1.98 €1.76

-55.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 IQD 1,421

$1.33 €1.18

-29.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 968

$2.16 €1.92

-70.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 IQD 890

$1.06 €0.94

-44.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 IQD 910

$1.15 €1.02

-47.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 IQD 814

$1.08 €0.96

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 IQD 682

$0.85 €0.75

-47.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.52 IQD 2,303

$5.46 €4.86

-72.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.69 IQD 17.7K

$10.03 €8.93

16.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,972

$2.04 €1.82

-3.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 IQD 2,818

$2.38 €2.12

-21.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 IQD 486

$1.35 €1.20

-76.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 IQD 1,964

$3.81 €3.39

-65.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 IQD 2,028

$1.03 €0.92

30.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 IQD 8,389

$16.49 €14.68

-66.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 IQD 623

$2.34 €2.09

-82.48%

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

$11.8K IQD 17.8M

$27.8K €24.7K

-57.56%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

$26.6K €23.7K

-37.15%

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

$35.53 IQD 53.7K

$202 €180

-82.43%

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

$14.71 IQD 22.2K

$26.81 €23.87

-45.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.60 IQD 50.8K

$30.49 €27.14

10.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

$54.1 €48.14

-52.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.40

Cinema Ticket

$8.49 IQD 12.8K

$10.44 €9.30

-18.68%

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

$142 IQD 215.0K

$568 €505

-74.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$787 IQD 1.2M

$15.2K €13.5K

-94.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.09 IQD 22.8K

$90.7 €80.7

-83.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.86 IQD 36.0K

$39.32 €35.01

-39.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.2 IQD 91.0K

$105 €93.7

-42.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.05 IQD 62.0K

$129 €115

-68.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$231 IQD 348.9K

$742 €661

-68.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$129 IQD 195.3K

$648 €577

-80.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 467.2K

$1,271 €1,132

-75.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 IQD 286.6K

$1,122 €999

-83.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,118 IQD 1.7M

$3,999 €3,561

-72.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$448 IQD 677.4K

$3,281 €2,921

-86.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$655 IQD 989.7K

$1,245 €1,109

-47.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

4.44

-7.21%

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

Last update for An Najaf: November 1, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

An Najaf

$147 25.9%

Athens

$316 17.8% 115% $169

Accommodation & Living

An Najaf

$129 22.7%

Athens

$648 36.4% 402% $519

Eating Out

An Najaf

$94 16.5%

Athens

$272 15.3% 189% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

An Najaf

$84 14.7%

Athens

$260 14.6% 210% $176

Clothing & Footwear

An Najaf

$63 11.1%

Athens

$164 9.2% 160% $101

Sport & Entertainment

An Najaf

$43 7.5%

Athens

$75 4.2% 76.3% $32

Getting Around

An Najaf

$9.3 * 1.6%

Athens

$45 2.5% 383% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $231 in An Najaf versus $742 in Athens. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 90% higher in Athens, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20 in An Najaf versus $66 in Athens. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $147 vs $316 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

05:34 5:34 AM

1 h behind An Najaf

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,221,248

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 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 = 1,696 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 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

An Najaf Athens 1,990 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

An Najaf
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

An Najaf vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens costs about 213% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $854 per month in An Najaf and $2,669 in Athens. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in An Najaf, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $231 there versus $742 in Athens.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $569 in An Najaf and $1,779 in Athens. That makes An Najaf about 68% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $142 per month in An Najaf and $568 in Athens. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in An Najaf, where all-in costs run around $569, than in Athens at $1,779. In An Najaf it covers expenses comfortably, while in Athens it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward An Najaf – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with An Najaf. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Athens makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.