Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Esztergom

For one person, living is cheaper in Esztergom: $1,307 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Esztergom
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Esztergom Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Esztergom

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,307

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Esztergom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,307 in Esztergom.

Athens $1,775
Esztergom $1,307

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $2,042 in Esztergom.

Athens $2,721
Esztergom $2,042

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,776 in Esztergom.

Athens $3,666
Esztergom $2,776

Living in Athens is roughly 36% more expensive than in Esztergom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Esztergom is 3% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$12.24 Ft 3,956

36.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$52.5 Ft 17.0K

29.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$9.07 Ft 2,931

22.82%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.66 Ft 860

51.50%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.98 Ft 638

39.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$1.18 Ft 380

-53.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$3.00 Ft 969

91.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.76 Ft 893

97.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.16 Ft 375

56.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.44 Ft 465

-4.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$2.42 Ft 781

15.70%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$3.17 Ft 1,024

52.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$10.98 Ft 3,546

37.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$6.23 Ft 2,013

70.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$13.69 Ft 4,422

34.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.49 Ft 804

-11.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.13 Ft 689

-10.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.13 Ft 688

-35.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$4.07 Ft 1,316

-48.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.20 Ft 387

-10.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.27 Ft 409

-11.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.77 Ft 572

-36.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.52 Ft 169

69.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$7.89 Ft 2,550

-30.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$6.26 Ft 2,023

61.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.23 Ft 396

73.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.62 Ft 523

38.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.20 Ft 388

13.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

$24.73 Ft 7,990

20.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$3.13 Ft 1,011

42.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.57 Ft 508

-35.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$17.99 Ft 5,813

-5.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.83 Ft 592

22.95%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$32.9K Ft 10.6M

-14.71%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$35.7K Ft 11.5M

-20.91%

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

$205 €182

$155 Ft 50.2K

31.67%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$33.19 Ft 10.7K

-19.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$27.01 Ft 8,728

12.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$51.6 Ft 16.7K

5.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$17.96 Ft 5,802

44.10%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$7.44 Ft 2,405

40.05%

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

$569 €506

$249 Ft 80.4K

128.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$7,327 Ft 2.4M

71.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$88.3 Ft 28.5K

0.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$27.33 Ft 8,829

48.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$99.8 Ft 32.2K

5.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$105 Ft 34.0K

15.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$534 Ft 172.4K

38.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$401 Ft 129.6K

63.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$860 Ft 278.0K

51.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$739 Ft 238.8K

55.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$2,775 Ft 896.6K

44.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$2,615 Ft 845.0K

32.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$1,185 Ft 382.7K

4.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

8.25

-45.70%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Esztergom: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Esztergom

$401 30.7% 38.7% $253

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Esztergom

$249 19% 19.8% $61

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Esztergom

$190 14.6% 29% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Esztergom

$216 16.5% 17.6% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Esztergom

$144 11% 9.7% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Esztergom

$67 5.1% 11.7% $8.8

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Esztergom

$41 3.1% 9.7% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $534 in Esztergom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 5% 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 $52.0 in Esztergom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $249 per month, with Esztergom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇭🇺 Esztergom

🕒 Local time

23:31 11:31 PM

22:31 10:31 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

28,642

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, 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).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Athens Esztergom 1,160 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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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 Esztergom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Esztergom wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Esztergom the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 5% 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 $534 in Esztergom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Esztergom – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,775 per month in Athens versus $1,307 in Esztergom – a 36% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,307 in Esztergom versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Esztergom but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Esztergom the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Esztergom delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,307 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Esztergom hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Esztergom 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 Esztergom gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.