Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Essaouira

For one person, living is cheaper in Essaouira: $782 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
Learn more

Athens Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Essaouira
Learn more

Essaouira Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Essaouira

🇲🇦 Morocco

$782

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Essaouira

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $782 in Essaouira.

Athens $1,775
Essaouira $782

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,172 in Essaouira.

Athens $2,721
Essaouira $1,172

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $1,562 in Essaouira.

Athens $3,666
Essaouira $1,562

Living in Athens is roughly 127% more expensive than in Essaouira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Essaouira is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$4.62 MAD 45.00

261.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$18.81 MAD 183

260.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$7.12 MAD 69.4

56.46%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$1.35 MAD 13.14

198.52%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$0.47 MAD 4.58

489.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.38 MAD 3.68

44.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$5.31 MAD 51.8

8.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$4.61 MAD 44.93

18.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.90 MAD 8.79

102.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.54 MAD 5.25

155.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.67 MAD 16.28

67.66%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$1.68 MAD 16.37

187.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.27 MAD 80.6

81.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$5.81 MAD 56.6

82.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$10.62 MAD 104

73.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.30 MAD 12.63

69.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.14 MAD 11.12

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.72 MAD 7.02

90.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.77 MAD 7.52

172.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.58 MAD 5.67

86.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.68 MAD 6.66

64.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.38 MAD 3.67

194.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.58 MAD 5.68

51.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.84 MAD 37.44

42.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$6.32 MAD 61.6

60.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.82 MAD 17.76

17.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.13 MAD 20.77

5.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.82 MAD 7.99

65.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.64 MAD 6.22

595.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.63 MAD 6.19

61.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.45 MAD 14.16

55.17%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$34.6K MAD 337.3K

-18.97%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$29.5K MAD 287.8K

-4.35%

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

$205 €182

$23.89 MAD 233

756.43%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$17.25 MAD 168

54.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$30.01 MAD 293

1.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$5.30 MAD 51.7

96.60%

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

$569 €506

$69.0 MAD 672

725.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$1,875 MAD 18.3K

571.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$29.38 MAD 286

201.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$44.72 MAD 436

-9.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$59.0 MAD 576

77.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$41.76 MAD 407

190.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$393 MAD 3,835

88.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$330 MAD 3,217

98.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$930 MAD 9,071

39.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$557 MAD 5,433

106.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$256 MAD 2,498

384.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

6.5

-31.08%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Essaouira: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Essaouira

$330 42.2% 49.6% $325

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Essaouira

$171 21.9% 44.9% $139

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Essaouira

$114 14.5% 57.6% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Essaouira

$71 9.1% 72.8% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Essaouira

$79 10.1% 50.8% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Essaouira

$11 * 1.4% 85.9% $65

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Essaouira

$7.1 * 0.9% 84.2% $38

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 $393 in Essaouira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 385% 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 $19.00 in Essaouira for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $171 per month, with Essaouira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇲🇦 Essaouira

🕒 Local time

19:43 7:43 PM

17:43 5:43 PM

2 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

77,966

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Athens Essaouira 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Essaouira

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 Essaouira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Essaouira wins on cost – living expenses run 127% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Essaouira the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 385% 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 $393 in Essaouira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $69.0 in Essaouira. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Essaouira – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $782 in Essaouira versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Essaouira but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Essaouira the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Essaouira delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $782 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Essaouira hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Essaouira 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 Essaouira gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.