Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Antananarivo and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Antananarivo: $649 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Antananarivo
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Antananarivo Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

Jump to prices

Antananarivo

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$649

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $649 per month in Antananarivo vs $1,779 in Athens, rent included.

Antananarivo $649
Athens $1,779

A couple spends around $1,001 per month in Antananarivo vs $2,721 in Athens, rent included.

Antananarivo $1,001
Athens $2,721

A family of three spends $1,354 per month in Antananarivo vs $3,663 in Athens, rent included.

Antananarivo $1,354
Athens $3,663

Antananarivo is about 64% cheaper than Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Antananarivo sits 52% below the global median, while Athens is 32% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.60 MGA 11.9K

$16.83 €14.99

-84.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.83 MGA 90.6K

$66.0 €58.8

-69.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 MGA 24.6K

$11.21 €9.98

-52.01%

Cappuccino

$1.60 MGA 7,328

$4.08 €3.64

-60.78%

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

$0.76 MGA 3,477

$2.77 €2.47

-72.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 MGA 1,897

$0.54 €0.48

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.97 MGA 4,435

$5.70 €5.07

-82.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 MGA 9,855

$6.26 €5.58

-65.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 MGA 4,225

$1.84 €1.64

-50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 MGA 4,625

$1.43 €1.27

-29.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 MGA 3,175

$2.67 €2.38

-74.16%

Eggs

$2.00 MGA 9,134

$4.95 €4.41

-59.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 MGA 38.0K

$15.09 €13.44

-44.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 MGA 20.3K

$10.99 €9.79

-59.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.68 MGA 21.4K

$19.77 €17.60

-76.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.04 MGA 4,744

$2.12 €1.89

-50.94%

Banana (1kg)

$0.53 MGA 2,433

$1.98 €1.76

-73.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.99 MGA 4,541

$1.33 €1.18

-25.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.82 MGA 3,762

$2.16 €1.92

-62.04%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 MGA 2,656

$1.06 €0.94

-45.28%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 MGA 4,149

$1.15 €1.02

-20.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 MGA 1,577

$1.08 €0.96

-67.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 MGA 3,217

$0.85 €0.75

-17.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.58 MGA 7,207

$5.46 €4.86

-71.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.94 MGA 22.6K

$10.03 €8.93

-50.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MGA 4,479

$2.04 €1.82

-51.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 MGA 8,111

$2.38 €2.12

-25.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.12 MGA 561

$1.35 €1.20

-91.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.41 MGA 15.6K

$3.81 €3.39

-10.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.24 MGA 10.2K

$1.03 €0.92

117.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.53 MGA 20.7K

$16.49 €14.68

-72.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 MGA 5,311

$2.34 €2.09

-50.43%

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

$11.6K MGA 53.1M

$27.8K €24.7K

-58.14%

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

$24.8K MGA 113.6M

$26.6K €23.7K

-6.60%

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

$73.6 MGA 336.3K

$202 €180

-63.61%

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

$16.88 MGA 77.2K

$26.81 €23.87

-37.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.2 MGA 257.1K

$30.49 €27.14

84.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.59 MGA 130.7K

$54.1 €48.14

-47.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.13 MGA 32.6K

$27.40 €24.40

-73.98%

Cinema Ticket

$5.47 MGA 25.0K

$10.44 €9.30

-47.61%

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

$24.67 MGA 112.7K

$568 €505

-95.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.3K MGA 124.7M

$15.2K €13.5K

79.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.87 MGA 132.0K

$90.7 €80.7

-68.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.99 MGA 123.3K

$39.32 €35.01

-31.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 MGA 342.9K

$105 €93.7

-28.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.7 MGA 309.3K

$129 €115

-47.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$320 MGA 1.5M

$742 €661

-56.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 MGA 679.0K

$648 €577

-77.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$726 MGA 3.3M

$1,271 €1,132

-42.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$319 MGA 1.5M

$1,122 €999

-71.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$669 MGA 3.1M

$3,999 €3,561

-83.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$574 MGA 2.6M

$3,281 €2,921

-82.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$130 MGA 596.2K

$1,245 €1,109

-89.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.75

4.44

254.73%

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

Last update for Antananarivo: November 2, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Antananarivo

$149 22.9%

Athens

$648 36.4% 337% $500

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Antananarivo

$147 22.6%

Athens

$260 14.6% 76.9% $113

Groceries & Markets

Antananarivo

$139 21.5%

Athens

$316 17.8% 127% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Antananarivo

$89 13.8%

Athens

$164 9.2% 83.4% $75

Eating Out

Antananarivo

$70 10.8%

Athens

$272 15.3% 287% $201

Sport & Entertainment

Antananarivo

$40 6.1%

Athens

$75 4.2% 89.6% $35

Getting Around

Antananarivo

$15 * 2.3%

Athens

$45 2.5% 197% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $320 in Antananarivo 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 in Athens are about 9.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20 in Antananarivo versus $66 in Athens. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $139 vs $316 – making Antananarivo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇬 Antananarivo

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

12:39 12:39 PM

11:39 11:39 AM

1 h behind Antananarivo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,274,225 Capital

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.95 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MGA – Malagasy Ariary Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇬 Malagasy Ariary (Ar)

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4,571 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD). 1 EUR = 5,133 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.95 EUR).

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

USD to MGA in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Antananarivo Athens 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Antananarivo
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

Antananarivo vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Athens is pricier by about 174%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $973 per month in Antananarivo 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 Antananarivo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $320 there versus $742 in Athens.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $649 in Antananarivo and $1,779 in Athens. That makes Antananarivo about 64% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $25 per month in Antananarivo and $568 in Athens. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Antananarivo, where all-in costs run around $649, than in Athens at $1,779. In Antananarivo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Athens it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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