Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Harstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,771 a month against $2,553 in Harstad, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Harstad
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Harstad Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Harstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,553

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Harstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Athens versus $2,553 in Harstad.

Athens $1,771
Harstad $2,553

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,736 in Athens versus $3,807 in Harstad.

Athens $2,736
Harstad $3,807

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,701 in Athens versus $5,061 in Harstad.

Athens $3,701
Harstad $5,061

Living in Athens costs roughly 31% less than in Harstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 31% above, Harstad 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$14.18 NOK 133

18.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 €60.7

$103 NOK 969

-33.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 €10.17

$15.83 NOK 149

-27.80%

Cappuccino

$4.06 €3.61

$6.29 NOK 59.2

-35.45%

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

$2.74 €2.44

$3.63 NOK 34.15

-24.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$3.14 NOK 29.58

-83.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

$12.57 NOK 118

-54.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

$13.53 NOK 127

-58.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.46 NOK 23.20

-24.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$3.25 NOK 30.60

-55.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$3.22 NOK 30.27

-12.42%

Eggs

$4.86 €4.32

$4.31 NOK 40.61

12.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 €13.58

$10.71 NOK 101

42.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.21

$14.37 NOK 135

-27.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 €16.99

$41.47 NOK 390

-53.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$4.15 NOK 39.10

-46.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.85 NOK 26.81

-32.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$3.69 NOK 34.75

-61.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$4.65 NOK 43.74

-56.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.06 NOK 19.36

-49.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$2.04 NOK 19.21

-42.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.98 NOK 28.02

-63.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$2.34 NOK 22.00

-64.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.89

$16.03 NOK 151

-65.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

$15.88 NOK 149

-35.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$3.82 NOK 35.99

-44.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$4.89 NOK 46.04

-53.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

$6.09 NOK 57.3

-77.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

$81.8 NOK 770

-63.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.90

$15.86 NOK 149

-72.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$1.86 NOK 17.47

-46.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$55.0 NOK 517

-69.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 €2.11

$2.29 NOK 21.60

3.93%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$36.4K NOK 343.0K

-22.05%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$30.9K NOK 291.0K

-11.96%

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

$203 €181

$167 NOK 1,568

22.12%

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

$26.79 €23.83

$33.30 NOK 313

-19.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 €26.82

$77.4 NOK 729

-61.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

$48.78 NOK 459

10.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

$37.22 NOK 350

-29.07%

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 €9.42

$17.10 NOK 161

-38.07%

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

$566 €504

$237 NOK 2,231

138.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

$5,116 NOK 48.2K

151.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 €79.3

$67.4 NOK 635

32.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 €36.01

$34.87 NOK 328

16.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.3

$118 NOK 1,111

-12.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$161 NOK 1,513

-22.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

$1,335 NOK 12.6K

-45.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

$1,035 NOK 9,740

-37.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

$2,281 NOK 21.5K

-41.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$1,526 NOK 14.4K

-23.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

$6,018 NOK 56.6K

-33.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

$3,991 NOK 37.6K

-12.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,240 €1,103

$3,383 NOK 31.8K

-63.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

-10.40%

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

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Last update for Harstad: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$647 36.5%

Harstad

$1K 40.5% 59.8% $387

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.6%

Harstad

$502 19.7% 60.8% $190

Eating Out

Athens

$271 15.3%

Harstad

$353 13.8% 30.6% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.7%

Harstad

$277 10.9% 6.5% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.1%

Harstad

$171 6.7% 6.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Harstad

$83 3.3% 10.8% $8.1

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Harstad

$131 5.1% 195% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Athens and $1,335 in Harstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harstad pays 173% 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 $103 in Harstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $502 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇳🇴 Harstad

🕒 Local time

21:26 9:26 PM

20:26 8:26 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

25,119

💱 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Athens Harstad 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Harstad

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 Harstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Harstad. 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 173% lower in Harstad. 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: $729 in Athens versus $1,335 in Harstad. 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 $103 in Harstad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,771 per month in Athens versus $2,553 in Harstad – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,771 in Athens versus $2,553 in Harstad, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Harstad. 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 $1,771 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Harstad 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 Harstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.