Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Halden

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $2,552 in Halden, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Halden
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Halden Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Halden

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Halden

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $2,552 in Halden.

Athens $1,775
Halden $2,552

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $3,967 in Halden.

Athens $2,721
Halden $3,967

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $5,381 in Halden.

Athens $3,666
Halden $5,381

Living in Athens costs roughly 30% less than in Halden, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 31% above, Halden 89% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$20.99 NOK 198

-20.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$105 NOK 987

-35.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$12.74 NOK 120

-12.56%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$4.76 NOK 44.82

-15.34%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$3.71 NOK 34.92

-25.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$3.09 NOK 29.06

-82.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$10.07 NOK 94.8

-43.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.84

$9.63 NOK 90.7

-43.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.43 NOK 22.92

-25.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$4.08 NOK 38.43

-66.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$4.06 NOK 38.20

-31.03%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$4.66 NOK 43.86

3.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$14.82 NOK 139

1.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$15.33 NOK 144

-30.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$31.09 NOK 293

-40.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$3.22 NOK 30.32

-31.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.58 NOK 24.32

-26.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$3.55 NOK 33.43

-61.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$4.00 NOK 37.65

-47.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.58 NOK 24.30

-58.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.78 NOK 26.20

-59.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$3.15 NOK 29.68

-64.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$2.06 NOK 19.42

-57.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$15.31 NOK 144

-64.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$16.46 NOK 155

-38.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$2.77 NOK 26.07

-23.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$4.07 NOK 38.34

-44.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$4.73 NOK 44.56

-71.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

$43.05 NOK 405

-30.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$12.05 NOK 113

-63.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.84 NOK 17.36

-44.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$69.8 NOK 657

-75.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.19 NOK 20.63

2.74%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$47.1K NOK 443.2K

-40.46%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$43.5K NOK 409.3K

-35.07%

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

$205 €182

$417 NOK 3,930

-50.99%

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

$26.65 €23.70

$31.39 NOK 296

-15.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$53.5 NOK 503

-43.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.46

$56.7 NOK 533

-3.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$31.23 NOK 294

-17.13%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$15.87 NOK 149

-34.34%

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

$569 €506

$235 NOK 2,212

142.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$15.6K NOK 147.3K

-19.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$99.2 NOK 933

-10.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$59.6 NOK 561

-32.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$135 NOK 1,273

-22.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$126 NOK 1,190

-4.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$939 NOK 8,837

-21.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$843 NOK 7,939

-22.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$1,914 NOK 18.0K

-32.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$1,677 NOK 15.8K

-31.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$2,058 NOK 19.4K

95.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$1,848 NOK 17.4K

87.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$3,445 NOK 32.4K

-63.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

4.75

-5.68%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Halden: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Halden

$843 33.1% 28.8% $189

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Halden

$486 19% 56.5% $175

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Halden

$360 14.1% 34.3% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Halden

$502 19.7% 92% $241

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Halden

$189 7.4% 18.3% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Halden

$88 3.5% 17.4% $13

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Halden

$83 3.3% 85.5% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $939 in Halden. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Halden pays 177% 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 $105 in Halden for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $486 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇳🇴 Halden

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

16:07 4:07 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

31,965

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Halden 2,500 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Halden

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 Halden: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Halden. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 177% lower in Halden. 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 $939 in Halden. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $105 in Halden. 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 $2,552 in Halden – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $2,552 in Halden, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Halden. The gap between the two cities makes Athens the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Athens delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,775 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Halden 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 Athens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Halden. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.