Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between As Samawah and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in As Samawah: $651 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in As Samawah
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As Samawah Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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As Samawah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$651

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $651 in As Samawah versus $1,779 in Athens.

As Samawah $651
Athens $1,779

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,052 in As Samawah versus $2,721 in Athens.

As Samawah $1,052
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,452 in As Samawah versus $3,663 in Athens.

As Samawah $1,452
Athens $3,663

Living in As Samawah costs roughly 63% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: As Samawah is 52% below, Athens is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.66 IQD 7,041

$16.83 €14.99

-72.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.87 IQD 40.6K

$66.0 €58.8

-59.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

$11.21 €9.98

-40.86%

Cappuccino

$2.82 IQD 4,266

$4.08 €3.64

-30.88%

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

$0.35 IQD 522

$2.77 €2.47

-87.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 IQD 281

$0.54 €0.48

-64.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.36 IQD 5,079

$5.70 €5.07

-41.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 IQD 4,889

$6.26 €5.58

-48.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 IQD 1,367

$1.84 €1.64

-51.09%

White Bread (500g)

$0.63 IQD 951

$1.43 €1.27

-55.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 IQD 1,978

$2.67 €2.38

-50.94%

Eggs

$1.61 IQD 2,436

$4.95 €4.41

-67.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$1.34 IQD 2,019

$15.09 €13.44

-91.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.02 IQD 6,070

$10.99 €9.79

-63.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.86 IQD 17.9K

$19.77 €17.60

-40.01%

Apples (1kg)

$0.96 IQD 1,455

$2.12 €1.89

-54.72%

Banana (1kg)

$0.92 IQD 1,383

$1.98 €1.76

-53.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.83 IQD 1,256

$1.33 €1.18

-37.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 IQD 606

$2.16 €1.92

-81.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 IQD 784

$1.06 €0.94

-50.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 851

$1.15 €1.02

-51.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 IQD 892

$1.08 €0.96

-45.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 IQD 878

$0.85 €0.75

-31.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 IQD 2,548

$5.46 €4.86

-69.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 IQD 10.1K

$10.03 €8.93

-33.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,973

$2.04 €1.82

-3.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 IQD 2,854

$2.38 €2.12

-20.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 IQD 517

$1.35 €1.20

-74.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.98 IQD 30.2K

$30.52 €27.18

-34.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 IQD 2,968

$3.81 €3.39

-48.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.28 IQD 1,940

$1.03 €0.92

24.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 IQD 3,937

$16.49 €14.68

-84.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.57 IQD 866

$2.34 €2.09

-75.64%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

$27.8K €24.7K

-39.72%

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

$16.6K IQD 25.1M

$26.6K €23.7K

-37.49%

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

$69.4 IQD 104.9K

$202 €180

-65.69%

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

$16.69 IQD 25.2K

$26.81 €23.87

-37.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.78 IQD 25.3K

$30.49 €27.14

-44.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.45 IQD 55.1K

$54.1 €48.14

-32.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.68 IQD 25.2K

$27.40 €24.40

-39.12%

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 IQD 11.8K

$10.44 €9.30

-25.19%

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

$49.72 IQD 75.1K

$568 €505

-91.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,297 IQD 2.0M

$15.2K €13.5K

-91.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

$90.7 €80.7

-71.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.33 IQD 50.4K

$39.32 €35.01

-15.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.9 IQD 89.0K

$105 €93.7

-44.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.08 IQD 62.1K

$129 €115

-68.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 IQD 316.2K

$742 €661

-71.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$137 IQD 207.7K

$648 €577

-78.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$168 IQD 254.1K

$1,271 €1,132

-86.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 467.1K

$1,122 €999

-72.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$867 IQD 1.3M

$3,999 €3,561

-78.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$496 IQD 750.1K

$3,281 €2,921

-84.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

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 As Samawah: November 2, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

As Samawah

$141 21.7%

Athens

$316 17.8% 124% $175

Accommodation & Living

As Samawah

$137 21.1%

Athens

$648 36.4% 372% $511

Eating Out

As Samawah

$116 17.9%

Athens

$272 15.3% 133% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

As Samawah

$103 15.8%

Athens

$260 14.6% 152% $157

Clothing & Footwear

As Samawah

$71 11%

Athens

$164 9.2% 129% $92

Sport & Entertainment

As Samawah

$52 8%

Athens

$75 4.2% 44% $23

Getting Around

As Samawah

$30 4.6%

Athens

$45 2.5% 51% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $209 in As Samawah and $742 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27 in As Samawah vs $66 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $141 vs $316 per month, with As Samawah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 As Samawah

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

11:48 11:48 AM

10:48 10:48 AM

1 h behind As Samawah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

250,000

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

As Samawah Athens 2,100 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

As Samawah
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

As Samawah vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

As Samawah is about 63% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $977 in As Samawah and $2,669 in Athens to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $209 in As Samawah versus $742 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in As Samawah runs roughly 35% less than in Athens. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $50 in As Samawah versus $568 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $651 in As Samawah versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in As Samawah but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes As Samawah 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 As Samawah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.