Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Erbil

For one person, living is cheaper in Erbil: $960 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
Learn more

Athens Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Erbil
Learn more

Erbil Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Erbil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$960

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Erbil

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $960 in Erbil.

Athens $1,779
Erbil $960

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,439 in Erbil.

Athens $2,721
Erbil $1,439

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,918 in Erbil.

Athens $3,663
Erbil $1,918

Living in Athens is roughly 85% more expensive than in Erbil, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Erbil is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$6.65 IQD 10.1K

153.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$37.28 IQD 56.3K

77.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.99

$7.27 IQD 11.0K

54.20%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$3.25 IQD 4,914

25.54%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.89 IQD 1,350

211.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.36 IQD 545

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

$5.76 IQD 8,706

-1.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$4.52 IQD 6,834

38.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.05 IQD 1,587

75.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.64 IQD 970

123.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.44 IQD 2,180

85.42%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.52 IQD 2,298

225.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.45

$7.04 IQD 10.6K

114.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$4.41 IQD 6,661

149.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.61

$12.64 IQD 19.1K

56.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.99 IQD 1,501

114.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.99 IQD 1,493

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.07 IQD 1,612

24.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.69 IQD 1,050

213.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.64 IQD 972

65.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.57 IQD 865

101.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$0.66 IQD 998

63.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.51 IQD 770

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$2.12 IQD 3,209

157.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$10.56 IQD 16.0K

-5.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.46 IQD 2,209

39.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.82 IQD 2,750

30.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.50 IQD 759

170.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

$39.67 IQD 59.9K

-23.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$1.67 IQD 2,520

128.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.54 IQD 2,325

-33.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$5.48 IQD 8,286

200.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$0.58 IQD 884

303.45%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

65.91%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$17.0K IQD 25.7M

56.24%

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

$202 €180

$116 IQD 174.8K

74.84%

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

$26.81 €23.88

$11.96 IQD 18.1K

124.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.16

$24.50 IQD 37.0K

24.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.17

$57.0 IQD 86.1K

-5.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

$13.43 IQD 20.3K

104.02%

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$9.99 IQD 15.1K

4.50%

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

$568 €506

$297 IQD 448.2K

91.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$4,080 IQD 6.2M

272.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.8

$26.29 IQD 39.7K

244.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.03

$38.72 IQD 58.5K

1.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$60.8 IQD 91.8K

73.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$58.8 IQD 88.9K

119.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$441 IQD 666.1K

68.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €578

$268 IQD 404.7K

142.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$696 IQD 1.1M

82.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$414 IQD 626.0K

170.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,562

$1,047 IQD 1.6M

282.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,923

$600 IQD 906.7K

446.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$514 IQD 776.4K

142.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

2.53

75.49%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Erbil: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Erbil

$268 27.9% 58.7% $381

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Erbil

$172 18% 45.5% $144

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Erbil

$157 16.3% 42.2% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Erbil

$152 15.8% 41.4% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Erbil

$83 8.7% 49.3% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Erbil

$77 8% 2.7% $2

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Erbil

$51 5.3% 13.7% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $441 in Erbil. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $37 in Erbil for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $172 per month, with Erbil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇮🇶 Erbil

🕒 Local time

01:11 1:11 AM

02:11 2:11 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,713,461

💱 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Athens Erbil 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Erbil

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 Erbil: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Erbil wins on cost – living expenses run 46% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Erbil the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 2.4 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 $441 in Erbil. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Erbil – a meal for two runs $37 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 $960 in Erbil – Erbil is about 46% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

Safety-wise, Athens and Erbil are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Erbil wins on affordability, Athens on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.