Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Balzan

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $1,963 in Balzan, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Balzan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Balzan
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Balzan Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Balzan

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,963

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Balzan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $1,963 in Balzan.

Athens $1,806
Balzan $1,963

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $2,917 in Balzan.

Athens $2,731
Balzan $2,917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $3,871 in Balzan.

Athens $3,656
Balzan $3,871

Living in Athens costs roughly 8% less than in Balzan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 35% above, Balzan 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$19.07 €17.02

-12.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$91.5 €81.7

-27.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

$12.43 €11.09

-11.02%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$3.22 €2.87

28.57%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$2.02 €1.80

38.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$1.01 €0.90

-43.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$3.38 €3.02

66.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$2.51 €2.24

117.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.28 €1.14

53.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.00 €0.89

41.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$3.63 €3.24

-22.04%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$4.26 €3.81

18.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$10.45 €9.33

46.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$9.05 €8.08

14.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$12.43 €11.09

52.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.67 €2.39

-18.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.98 €1.77

-3.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.80 €1.61

-23.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.17 €1.05

88.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.88 €0.79

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$0.87 €0.77

29.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$0.83 €0.74

32.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.02 €0.91

-18.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$6.23 €5.56

-10.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$5.90 €5.27

72.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.05 €0.94

107.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.51 €1.35

62.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$3.19 €2.84

-56.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$2.30 €2.05

90.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$1.78 €1.59

-41.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

$32.65 €29.14

-47.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.50 €1.34

54.00%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$28.7K €25.6K

-2.50%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$32.8K €29.3K

-14.53%

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

$210 €187

$158 €141

32.94%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$20.27 €18.09

31.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$29.53 €26.36

2.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$62.4 €55.7

-12.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$11.75 €10.49

-8.26%

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

$575 €513

$279 €249

105.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$12.4K €11.1K

5.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$76.4 €68.2

21.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$63.3 €56.4

-35.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$113 €101

-8.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$133 €119

-3.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$1,170 €1,044

-35.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$949 €847

-31.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$1,804 €1,610

-28.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$1,504 €1,342

-22.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$3,953 €3,527

1.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$2,826 €2,522

22.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$1,019 €909

22.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

4.05

10.62%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Balzan: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Balzan

$949 48.7% 45.5% $297

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Balzan

$247 12.7% 21.6% $68

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Balzan

$263 13.5% 2.3% $6.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Balzan

$208 10.7% 22.1% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Balzan

$174 8.9% 5.5% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Balzan

$86 4.4% 12.8% $9.7

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Balzan

$24 * 1.2% 47.9% $22

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 $756 in Athens and $1,170 in Balzan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Athens vs $92.0 in Balzan. Groceries flip the comparison at $315 vs $247, with Balzan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇲🇹 Balzan

🕒 Local time

07:57 7:57 AM

06:57 6:57 AM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

4,700

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Balzan 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Balzan

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 Balzan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Balzan. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 22% 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: $756 in Athens versus $1,170 in Balzan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $575 in Athens versus $279 in Balzan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $92.0 in Balzan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $1,963 in Balzan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Balzan. The gap between the two cities makes Athens the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Athens delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,806 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Balzan 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 Athens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Balzan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.