Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Al-hawiyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-hawiyah: $1,121 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Al-hawiyah
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Al-hawiyah Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Al-hawiyah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $1,121 in Al-hawiyah.

Athens $1,779
Al-hawiyah $1,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,611 in Al-hawiyah.

Athens $2,721
Al-hawiyah $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $2,100 in Al-hawiyah.

Athens $3,663
Al-hawiyah $2,100

Living in Athens is roughly 59% more expensive than in Al-hawiyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Al-hawiyah is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €15.06

$4.40 SAR 16.52

282.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €59.1

$26.04 SAR 97.7

153.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €10.03

$7.07 SAR 26.54

58.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.49 SAR 5.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.85

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.65

$2.61 SAR 9.81

56.32%

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

$2.77 €2.48

$0.68 SAR 2.54

307.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.23 SAR 0.86

134.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.10

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.60

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.88 SAR 7.05

-2.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.28

$0.93 SAR 3.48

53.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.15 SAR 8.07

24.19%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.43

$2.69 SAR 10.11

84.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.51

$5.95 SAR 22.34

153.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.83

$11.65 SAR 43.72

-5.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.69

$12.81 SAR 48.07

54.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.90

$2.06 SAR 7.72

2.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$1.62 SAR 6.08

22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.82 SAR 6.82

-26.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.49 SAR 5.59

44.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.30 SAR 4.87

-18.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.44 SAR 5.40

-20.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$1.08 SAR 4.07

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.76

$0.73 SAR 2.74

16.44%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.68 SAR 10.05

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 SAR 7.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.88

$7.79 SAR 29.23

-29.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.97

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.13

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.21

$1.10 SAR 4.11

22.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.31

$37.15 SAR 139

-17.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.41

$1.69 SAR 6.33

125.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$2.67 SAR 10.03

-61.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.75

$14.24 SAR 53.5

15.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.10

$0.64 SAR 2.41

265.62%

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

$27.8K €24.8K

$26.2K SAR 98.3K

6.07%

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

$26.6K €23.8K

$21.3K SAR 79.9K

24.93%

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

$202 €181

$65.5 SAR 246

208.97%

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

$26.81 €23.99

$34.01 SAR 128

-21.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.28

$61.7 SAR 231

-50.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.38

$71.1 SAR 267

-23.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.52

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.34

$14.91 SAR 56.0

-29.98%

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

$568 €508

$483 SAR 1,813

17.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.6K

$5,279 SAR 19.8K

187.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €81.1

$13.32 SAR 50.0

580.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.19

$55.5 SAR 208

-29.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.1

$39.73 SAR 149

164.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$52.5 SAR 197

145.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €664

$635 SAR 2,383

16.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €580

$422 SAR 1,585

53.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,138

$824 SAR 3,092

54.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €1,004

$584 SAR 2,192

92.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,578

$1,930 SAR 7,245

107.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,936

$1,066 SAR 4,000

207.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,114

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

5.25

-15.43%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Al-hawiyah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Al-hawiyah

$422 37.7% 34.9% $226

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Al-hawiyah

$217 19.3% 31.5% $100

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Al-hawiyah

$91 8.2% 66.3% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Al-hawiyah

$161 14.4% 37.9% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Al-hawiyah

$72 6.5% 55.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Al-hawiyah

$101 9% 34.6% $26

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Al-hawiyah

$57 5.1% 26.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $635 in Al-hawiyah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $26 in Al-hawiyah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $217 per month, with Al-hawiyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇸🇦 Al-hawiyah

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

148,151

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Athens Al-hawiyah 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Athens
Al-hawiyah

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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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,779 in Athens and $1,121 in Al-hawiyah, so Al-hawiyah is about 37% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,669 in Athens and $1,682 in Al-hawiyah 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: $742 in Athens versus $635 in Al-hawiyah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Al-hawiyah – a meal for two runs $26 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,779 per month in Athens versus $1,121 in Al-hawiyah – Al-hawiyah is about 37% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al-hawiyah gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.