Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and An Najaf

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.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in An Najaf

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 An Najaf actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

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

Athens $1,779
An Najaf $569

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

Athens $2,721
An Najaf $855

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

Athens $3,663
An Najaf $1,142

Athens costs about 213% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$3.87 IQD 5,854

334.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$20.11 IQD 30.4K

228.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.99

$4.32 IQD 6,530

159.49%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$2.29 IQD 3,457

78.17%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.38 IQD 577

628.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.20 IQD 301

170.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

$3.20 IQD 4,840

78.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$2.04 IQD 3,077

206.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.92 IQD 1,390

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.68 IQD 1,027

110.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.37 IQD 2,070

94.89%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.61 IQD 2,439

207.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.45

$3.24 IQD 4,897

365.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$3.42 IQD 5,169

221.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.61

$9.28 IQD 14.0K

113.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.97 IQD 1,461

118.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.89 IQD 1,350

122.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$0.94 IQD 1,421

41.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.64 IQD 968

237.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.59 IQD 890

79.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.60 IQD 910

91.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$0.54 IQD 814

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.45 IQD 682

88.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$1.52 IQD 2,303

259.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$11.69 IQD 17.7K

-14.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.97 IQD 2,972

3.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.87 IQD 2,818

27.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.32 IQD 486

321.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$1.30 IQD 1,964

193.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.34 IQD 2,028

-23.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$5.55 IQD 8,389

197.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$0.41 IQD 623

470.73%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$11.8K IQD 17.8M

135.61%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

59.11%

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

$202 €180

$35.53 IQD 53.7K

469.15%

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

$26.81 €23.88

$14.71 IQD 22.2K

82.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.16

$33.60 IQD 50.8K

-9.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.17

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

111.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$8.49 IQD 12.8K

22.97%

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

$568 €506

$142 IQD 215.0K

298.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$787 IQD 1.2M

1829.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.8

$15.09 IQD 22.8K

500.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.03

$23.86 IQD 36.0K

64.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$60.2 IQD 91.0K

74.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$41.05 IQD 62.0K

214.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$231 IQD 348.9K

221.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €578

$129 IQD 195.3K

401.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$309 IQD 467.2K

311.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$190 IQD 286.6K

491.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,562

$1,118 IQD 1.7M

257.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,923

$448 IQD 677.4K

631.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$655 IQD 989.7K

90.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

4.12

7.77%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for An Najaf: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

An Najaf

$129 22.7% 80.1% $519

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

An Najaf

$147 25.9% 53.5% $169

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

An Najaf

$94 16.5% 65.4% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

An Najaf

$84 14.7% 67.7% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

An Najaf

$63 11.1% 61.5% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

An Najaf

$43 7.5% 43.3% $32

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

An Najaf

$9.3 * 1.6% 79.3% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $742 in Athens versus $231 in An Najaf. 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 $66 in Athens versus $20 in An Najaf. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $316 vs $147 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🕒 Local time

06:28 6:28 AM

07:28 7:28 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,221,248

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

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

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An Najaf

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

Athens vs An Najaf: 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 $2,669 per month in Athens and $854 in An Najaf. 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 $1,779 in Athens and $569 in An Najaf. That makes An Najaf about 68% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $568 per month in Athens and $142 in An Najaf. 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.