Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Hermanus

For one person, living is cheaper in Hermanus: $1,118 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Hermanus
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Hermanus Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Hermanus

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,118

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Hermanus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,118 in Hermanus.

Athens $1,775
Hermanus $1,118

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,727 in Hermanus.

Athens $2,721
Hermanus $1,727

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,336 in Hermanus.

Athens $3,666
Hermanus $2,336

Living in Athens is roughly 59% more expensive than in Hermanus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Hermanus is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$13.13 R 216

27.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$34.89 R 575

94.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.59 R 92.1

99.28%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.30 R 37.84

75.22%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.08 R 17.76

156.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.87 R 14.27

-36.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.23 R 36.66

157.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.77 R 45.61

96.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.19 R 19.66

52.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.12 R 18.47

23.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.77 R 29.18

58.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$2.44 R 40.15

97.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.34 R 137

80.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$4.98 R 82.0

113.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.04 R 116

161.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.76 R 29.07

25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.68 R 27.62

13.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.79 R 29.42

-23.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.71 R 28.10

22.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.47 R 24.14

-26.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.43 R 23.63

-21.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.20 R 19.78

-6.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.17 R 19.28

-24.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.34 R 55.1

64.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$7.06 R 116

43.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.45 R 23.81

46.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.95 R 32.12

15.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.48 R 24.34

-8.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.62 R 10.25

617.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.88 R 14.46

15.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$11.54 R 190

46.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.46 R 24.02

54.11%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$36.0K R 593.0K

-22.13%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$31.8K R 524.6K

-11.34%

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

$205 €182

$145 R 2,395

40.72%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$35.60 R 587

-25.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$39.60 R 652

-23.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$21.12 R 348

158.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$13.86 R 228

86.72%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$6.19 R 102

68.34%

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

$569 €506

$245 R 4,032

132.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$5,463 R 90.0K

130.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$52.2 R 860

69.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$32.45 R 535

24.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$101 R 1,658

4.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$86.9 R 1,431

39.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$396 R 6,524

87.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$359 R 5,923

82.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$716 R 11.8K

81.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$717 R 11.8K

60.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$888 R 14.6K

351.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$659 R 10.9K

424.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

10.94

-59.05%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hermanus: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Hermanus

$359 32.2% 45.1% $295

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Hermanus

$197 17.6% 36.6% $114

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Hermanus

$174 15.6% 35.2% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Hermanus

$221 19.7% 15.7% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Hermanus

$122 11% 23.4% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Hermanus

$34 3% 55.5% $42

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Hermanus

$11 * 1% 75.7% $34

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 $396 in Hermanus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $35.00 in Hermanus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $197 per month, with Hermanus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Hermanus

🕒 Local time

15:13 3:13 PM

14:13 2:13 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

56,139

💱 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 Hermanus 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Hermanus

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 Hermanus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hermanus wins on cost – living expenses run 59% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hermanus the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,662 in Athens and $1,677 in Hermanus to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $741 in Athens versus $396 in Hermanus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $245 in Hermanus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hermanus – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,118 in Hermanus versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Hermanus but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Hermanus the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Hermanus delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,118 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hermanus hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Hermanus 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 Hermanus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.