Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,060 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Howick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,060 in Howick.

Athens $1,775
Howick $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,654 in Howick.

Athens $2,721
Howick $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,248 in Howick.

Athens $3,666
Howick $2,248

Living in Athens is roughly 68% more expensive than in Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Howick is 22% 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

$39.02 R 643

73.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.36 R 88.3

107.84%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.70 R 44.48

49.26%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.11 R 18.34

149.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.83 R 13.71

-33.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.36 R 38.83

143.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.61 R 42.93

108.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.23 R 20.28

47.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.97 R 16.06

42.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.48 R 24.32

89.19%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$2.32 R 38.24

108.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.08 R 133

86.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$5.04 R 83.1

110.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.25 R 119

154.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.94 R 32.00

13.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.85 R 30.55

2.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.90 R 31.33

-27.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.63 R 26.89

28.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.48 R 24.36

-27.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.45 R 23.88

-22.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.16 R 19.16

-3.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.19 R 19.66

-26.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.68 R 60.7

48.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$4.72 R 77.8

114.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.45 R 23.93

46.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.84 R 30.30

22.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.47 R 24.20

-7.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.43 R 7.17

934.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.69 R 11.43

47.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$7.48 R 123

126.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.41 R 23.18

59.57%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$35.0K R 576.3K

-19.86%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$31.0K R 510.4K

-8.87%

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

$205 €182

$148 R 2,434

38.48%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$14.79 R 244

80.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$39.50 R 651

-23.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$32.28 R 532

68.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$10.64 R 175

143.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$7.20 R 119

44.72%

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

$569 €506

$307 R 5,053

85.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$7,495 R 123.5K

67.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$53.1 R 875

67.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$30.21 R 498

33.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$97.5 R 1,606

7.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$82.1 R 1,353

47.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$387 R 6,368

91.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$357 R 5,883

83.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$737 R 12.1K

76.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$734 R 12.1K

56.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$863 R 14.2K

365.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$664 R 10.9K

421.39%

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 Howick: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Howick

$357 33.7% 45.4% $297

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Howick

$192 18.1% 38.2% $119

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Howick

$134 12.6% 50% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Howick

$202 19.1% 22.8% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Howick

$118 11.2% 26% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Howick

$47 4.4% 38% $29

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Howick

$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 $387 in Howick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $39.00 in Howick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $192 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

13:35 1:35 PM

12:35 12:35 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

32,453

💱 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 Howick 7,530 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Howick the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,662 in Athens and $1,589 in Howick 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 $387 in Howick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $307 in Howick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,060 in Howick versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Howick the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Howick delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,060 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Howick hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Howick 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 Howick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.