Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Antananarivo

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.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Antananarivo
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Antananarivo Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Antananarivo

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$649

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Antananarivo

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

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

Athens $1,779
Antananarivo $649

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

Athens $2,721
Antananarivo $1,001

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

Athens $3,663
Antananarivo $1,354

Athens costs about 174% more than Antananarivo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$2.60 MGA 11.9K

547.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$19.83 MGA 90.7K

232.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.99

$5.38 MGA 24.6K

108.36%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$1.60 MGA 7,329

155.00%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.76 MGA 3,478

264.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.42 MGA 1,897

28.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

$0.97 MGA 4,435

487.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$2.16 MGA 9,857

189.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.92 MGA 4,226

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.01 MGA 4,626

41.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$0.69 MGA 3,176

286.96%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$2.00 MGA 9,136

147.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.45

$8.31 MGA 38.0K

81.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$4.44 MGA 20.3K

147.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.61

$4.68 MGA 21.4K

322.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.04 MGA 4,745

103.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.53 MGA 2,434

273.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$0.99 MGA 4,542

34.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.82 MGA 3,763

163.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.58 MGA 2,657

82.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.91 MGA 4,149

26.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$0.35 MGA 1,577

208.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.70 MGA 3,218

21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$1.58 MGA 7,208

245.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$4.94 MGA 22.6K

103.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$0.98 MGA 4,480

108.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.77 MGA 8,112

34.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.12 MGA 561

1025.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$3.41 MGA 15.6K

11.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$2.24 MGA 10.2K

-54.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$4.53 MGA 20.7K

264.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$1.16 MGA 5,312

101.72%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$11.6K MGA 53.1M

138.87%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$24.8K MGA 113.6M

7.07%

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

$202 €180

$73.6 MGA 336.4K

174.83%

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

$26.81 €23.88

$16.88 MGA 77.2K

58.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.16

$56.2 MGA 257.1K

-45.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.17

$28.59 MGA 130.7K

89.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

$7.13 MGA 32.6K

284.29%

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$5.47 MGA 25.0K

90.86%

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

$568 €506

$24.67 MGA 112.8K

2200.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$27.3K MGA 124.8M

-44.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.8

$28.87 MGA 132.0K

213.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.03

$26.99 MGA 123.4K

45.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$75.0 MGA 343.0K

40.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$67.7 MGA 309.3K

90.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$320 MGA 1.5M

131.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €578

$149 MGA 679.2K

336.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$726 MGA 3.3M

75.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$319 MGA 1.5M

251.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,562

$669 MGA 3.1M

497.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,923

$574 MGA 2.6M

471.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$130 MGA 596.3K

854.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

15.75

-71.81%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Antananarivo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Antananarivo

$149 22.9% 77.1% $500

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Antananarivo

$139 21.5% 55.9% $177

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Antananarivo

$70 10.8% 74.2% $201

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Antananarivo

$147 22.6% 43.5% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Antananarivo

$89 13.8% 45.5% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Antananarivo

$40 6.1% 47.3% $35

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Antananarivo

$15 * 2.3% 66.4% $30

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 $320 in Antananarivo. 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 $66 in Athens versus $20 in Antananarivo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $316 vs $139 – making Antananarivo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇲🇬 Antananarivo

🕒 Local time

00:32 12:32 AM

01:32 1:32 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,274,225 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MGA, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4,572 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.19 USD). 1 EUR = 5,132 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.95 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Athens Antananarivo 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Antananarivo

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 Antananarivo: 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 $2,669 per month in Athens and $973 in Antananarivo. 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 $1,779 in Athens and $649 in Antananarivo. That makes Antananarivo about 64% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $568 per month in Athens and $25 in Antananarivo. 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.