Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $543 in Badulla.

Athens $1,775
Badulla $543

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $877 in Badulla.

Athens $2,721
Badulla $877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $1,211 in Badulla.

Athens $3,666
Badulla $1,211

Living in Athens is roughly 227% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$3.88 LKR 1,287

330.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$25.05 LKR 8,298

170.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$7.37 LKR 2,442

51.15%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.55 LKR 844

58.04%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$0.71 LKR 236

290.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.27 LKR 89.5

103.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.22 LKR 735

158.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$3.07 LKR 1,015

77.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.55 LKR 514

17.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.53 LKR 174

160.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$0.60 LKR 199

366.67%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$1.66 LKR 551

190.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$13.97 LKR 4,627

7.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$3.56 LKR 1,178

198.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.62 LKR 2,522

141.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$6.65 LKR 2,202

-66.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.87 LKR 288

118.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$4.35 LKR 1,440

-68.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.33 LKR 439

57.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.99 LKR 329

9.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.77 LKR 255

45.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.87 LKR 287

28.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.45 LKR 151

95.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$10.13 LKR 3,354

-45.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$12.74 LKR 4,221

-20.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.90 LKR 628

12.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.93 LKR 971

-23.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.38 LKR 125

1071.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.37 LKR 123

175.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$0.88 LKR 293

1822.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.38 LKR 456

63.04%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

-23.24%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

-30.67%

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

$205 €182

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

253.67%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$4.31 LKR 1,429

518.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$21.13 LKR 6,998

43.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$4.49 LKR 1,488

132.07%

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

$569 €506

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

1384.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

944.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$18.44 LKR 6,108

380.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$16.32 LKR 5,405

147.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

30.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

193.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

874.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

1372.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

1177.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

-11.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$742 LKR 245.8K

366.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$224 LKR 74.3K

453.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

12.69

-64.70%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Badulla: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Badulla

$44 8.2% 93.2% $610

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Badulla

$229 42.2% 26.2% $81

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Badulla

$105 19.3% 60.9% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Badulla

$83 15.3% 68.2% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Badulla

$70 12.9% 56% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Badulla

$9 * 1.7% 88.1% $66

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4% 95% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $76.1 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 454% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $25.00 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $229 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

16:05 4:05 PM

18:35 6:35 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Badulla 6,690 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla wins on cost – living expenses run 227% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Badulla the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 454% higher in Athens, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $741 in Athens versus $76.1 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $38.34 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $543 in Badulla versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Badulla delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $543 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Badulla hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Badulla are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 227% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.