Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Hillcrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,084 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,084

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Hillcrest

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,084 in Hillcrest.

Athens $1,775
Hillcrest $1,084

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,681 in Hillcrest.

Athens $2,721
Hillcrest $1,681

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,279 in Hillcrest.

Athens $3,666
Hillcrest $2,279

Living in Athens is roughly 64% more expensive than in Hillcrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Hillcrest is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$7.59 R 125

119.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$38.42 R 633

76.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.87 R 96.8

89.78%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.74 R 45.17

47.08%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.08 R 17.77

156.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.83 R 13.64

-33.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.38 R 39.22

141.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.50 R 41.26

118.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.23 R 20.34

47.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.91 R 15.06

51.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.48 R 24.36

89.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$2.42 R 39.88

99.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.19 R 135

83.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$5.14 R 84.8

106.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.05 R 116

161.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.29 R 21.23

70.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.85 R 30.55

2.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.90 R 31.34

-27.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.67 R 27.46

25.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.48 R 24.43

-27.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.44 R 23.79

-22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.20 R 19.73

-6.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.15 R 19.01

-23.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.54 R 58.4

54.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$4.92 R 81.1

105.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.39 R 22.83

53.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.83 R 30.21

22.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.46 R 24.09

-6.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.40 R 6.66

1012.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.71 R 11.69

43.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$7.55 R 124

124.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.52 R 25.06

48.03%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$35.3K R 580.9K

-20.50%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$30.8K R 506.8K

-8.24%

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

$205 €182

$143 R 2,362

42.71%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$35.68 R 588

-25.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$39.15 R 645

-22.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$31.67 R 522

72.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$10.82 R 178

139.19%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$7.05 R 116

47.80%

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

$569 €506

$308 R 5,078

84.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$7,586 R 125.0K

65.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$53.9 R 888

64.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$29.76 R 490

35.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$98.3 R 1,620

6.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$83.9 R 1,382

44.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$397 R 6,544

86.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$366 R 6,029

78.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$730 R 12.0K

78.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$734 R 12.1K

56.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$882 R 14.5K

354.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$659 R 10.9K

424.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.78

-61.97%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hillcrest: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Hillcrest

$366 33.8% 44.1% $289

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Hillcrest

$188 17.4% 39.3% $122

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Hillcrest

$136 12.5% 49.4% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Hillcrest

$218 20.1% 16.6% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Hillcrest

$120 11% 25.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Hillcrest

$46 4.2% 39.2% $30

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Hillcrest

$9.8 * 0.9% 78.2% $35

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 $397 in Hillcrest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $38.00 in Hillcrest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $188 per month, with Hillcrest cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

11:05 11:05 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 →

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Between locations

Athens Hillcrest 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Hillcrest

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 Hillcrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hillcrest wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hillcrest the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,662 in Athens and $1,625 in Hillcrest 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 $397 in Hillcrest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $308 in Hillcrest. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Hillcrest – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,084 in Hillcrest versus $1,775 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hillcrest but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Hillcrest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Hillcrest delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,084 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hillcrest hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Hillcrest 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 Hillcrest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.