Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Fourways

For one person, living is cheaper in Fourways: $1,049 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Fourways
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Fourways Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Fourways

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,049

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Fourways

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,049 in Fourways.

Athens $1,775
Fourways $1,049

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,600 in Fourways.

Athens $2,721
Fourways $1,600

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,152 in Fourways.

Athens $3,666
Fourways $2,152

Living in Athens is roughly 69% more expensive than in Fourways, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Fourways is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$8.81 R 145

89.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$37.13 R 612

82.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.49 R 90.5

102.91%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.30 R 37.90

75.22%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.10 R 18.13

151.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.82 R 13.50

-32.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.44 R 40.17

135.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.70 R 44.42

101.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.16 R 19.15

56.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.14 R 18.82

21.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.72 R 28.35

62.79%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$2.52 R 41.50

91.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$7.74 R 128

94.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$4.53 R 74.6

134.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.46 R 123

147.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.44 R 23.73

52.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.59 R 26.27

19.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.79 R 29.55

-23.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.56 R 25.75

34.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.08 R 17.79

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.22 R 20.15

-8.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.23 R 20.31

-8.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.04 R 17.12

-15.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.26 R 53.7

68.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$5.17 R 85.1

95.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.51 R 24.80

41.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.99 R 32.72

13.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.31 R 5.14

1335.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.78 R 12.84

30.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$14.47 R 238

16.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.56 R 25.76

44.23%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$28.7K R 473.3K

-2.42%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$27.6K R 454.2K

2.41%

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

$205 €182

$88.4 R 1,456

131.45%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$36.56 R 602

-27.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$37.70 R 621

-19.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$32.69 R 539

66.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$16.67 R 275

55.25%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$7.22 R 119

44.32%

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

$569 €506

$257 R 4,239

121.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$7,930 R 130.7K

58.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$52.8 R 870

67.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$31.74 R 523

27.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$78.6 R 1,295

33.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$84.8 R 1,398

42.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$390 R 6,432

89.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$399 R 6,569

64.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$750 R 12.4K

73.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$691 R 11.4K

66.15%

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

$1,603 R 26.4K

-22.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.34

-60.49%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Fourways: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Fourways

$399 38% 39.1% $256

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Fourways

$185 17.6% 40.4% $126

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Fourways

$140 13.3% 47.8% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Fourways

$163 15.5% 37.8% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Fourways

$112 10.6% 30.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Fourways

$47 4.5% 37.4% $28

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Fourways

$4.2 * 0.4% 90.6% $41

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 $390 in Fourways. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fourways pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $37.00 in Fourways for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $185 per month, with Fourways cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Fourways

🕒 Local time

11:16 11:16 AM

10:16 10:16 AM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Fourways 7,130 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Fourways

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 Fourways: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fourways wins on cost – living expenses run 69% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Fourways the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 29% lower in Fourways. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $741 in Athens versus $390 in Fourways. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $257 in Fourways. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Fourways – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,049 in Fourways versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Fourways but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Fourways the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Fourways delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,049 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Fourways hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Fourways 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 Fourways gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.