Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Dar es Salaam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dar es Salaam: $701 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
Learn more

Athens Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Dar es Salaam
Learn more

Dar es Salaam Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Dar es Salaam

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$701

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $701 in Dar es Salaam.

Athens $1,779
Dar es Salaam $701

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,114 in Dar es Salaam.

Athens $2,721
Dar es Salaam $1,114

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,527 in Dar es Salaam.

Athens $3,663
Dar es Salaam $1,527

Living in Athens is roughly 154% more expensive than in Dar es Salaam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Dar es Salaam is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$1.85 TZS 4,854

809.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$18.91 TZS 49.7K

249.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.98

$7.54 TZS 19.8K

48.67%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$1.93 TZS 5,069

111.40%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.37 TZS 981

648.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.20 TZS 525

170.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.07

$0.91 TZS 2,397

526.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$1.88 TZS 4,938

232.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.84 TZS 2,219

119.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.61 TZS 1,601

134.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.10 TZS 2,888

142.73%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.94 TZS 5,105

155.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.44

$9.32 TZS 24.5K

61.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$4.90 TZS 12.9K

124.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.60

$3.96 TZS 10.4K

399.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$2.47 TZS 6,504

-14.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.07 TZS 2,803

85.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.02 TZS 2,691

30.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.91 TZS 2,387

137.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.95 TZS 2,510

11.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.03 TZS 2,707

11.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.82 TZS 2,168

31.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.39 TZS 1,013

117.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$2.02 TZS 5,322

170.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$6.99 TZS 18.4K

43.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$0.87 TZS 2,289

134.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.60 TZS 4,209

48.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.24 TZS 628

462.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

$15.01 TZS 39.5K

103.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$1.70 TZS 4,462

124.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.55 TZS 4,084

-33.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$13.48 TZS 35.4K

22.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$1.40 TZS 3,675

67.14%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$17.0K TZS 44.7M

63.24%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$26.2K TZS 68.8M

1.69%

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

$202 €180

$57.6 TZS 151.3K

251.32%

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

$26.81 €23.87

$8.92 TZS 23.4K

200.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.14

$34.59 TZS 90.9K

-11.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.14

$83.5 TZS 219.6K

-35.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.40

$10.19 TZS 26.8K

168.89%

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$5.21 TZS 13.7K

100.38%

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

$568 €505

$569 TZS 1.5M

-0.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$14.4K TZS 37.7M

5.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$15.19 TZS 39.9K

496.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.01

$26.19 TZS 68.8K

50.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$43.57 TZS 114.5K

141.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$59.4 TZS 156.1K

117.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$533 TZS 1.4M

39.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €577

$191 TZS 502.9K

238.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$1,358 TZS 3.6M

-6.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$441 TZS 1.2M

154.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,561

$1,504 TZS 4.0M

165.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,921

$1,091 TZS 2.9M

200.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$284 TZS 745.6K

339.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

18.25

-75.67%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Dar es Salaam: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Dar es Salaam

$191 27.3% 70.5% $457

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Dar es Salaam

$153 21.8% 51.7% $164

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Dar es Salaam

$71 10.2% 73.8% $200

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Dar es Salaam

$101 14.4% 61.1% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Dar es Salaam

$65 9.3% 60.4% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Dar es Salaam

$94 13.4% 25.3% $19

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Dar es Salaam

$25 3.6% 43.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $533 in Dar es Salaam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $19 in Dar es Salaam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $153 per month, with Dar es Salaam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam

🕒 Local time

13:15 1:15 PM

14:15 2:15 PM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

5,383,728

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.8 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2,629 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.8 USD). 1 EUR = 2,953 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.39 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Athens Dar es Salaam 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dar es Salaam wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Dar es Salaam the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 4.4 times higher, 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: $742 in Athens versus $533 in Dar es Salaam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Dar es Salaam – a meal for two runs $19 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 $701 in Dar es Salaam – Dar es Salaam is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $701 in Dar es Salaam versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dar es Salaam but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Dar es Salaam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Dar es Salaam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.