Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Kathmandu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kathmandu: $481 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Kathmandu
Learn more

Kathmandu Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Kathmandu

🇳🇵 Nepal

$481

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Kathmandu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $481 in Kathmandu.

Athens $1,806
Kathmandu $481

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $767 in Kathmandu.

Athens $2,731
Kathmandu $767

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $1,052 in Kathmandu.

Athens $3,656
Kathmandu $1,052

Living in Athens is roughly 275% more expensive than in Kathmandu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 35% above, Kathmandu is 64% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.85

$1.94 NPR 300

758.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.0

$20.45 NPR 3,166

223.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.86

$7.71 NPR 1,194

43.45%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$1.51 NPR 233

174.17%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$0.49 NPR 76.5

471.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.16 NPR 24.27

256.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$3.04 NPR 471

85.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.86

$3.27 NPR 507

66.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.74

$0.76 NPR 118

157.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.25

$0.62 NPR 96.4

127.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$0.85 NPR 131

232.94%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.49

$1.65 NPR 255

205.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.68

$7.15 NPR 1,107

114.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.22

$3.18 NPR 492

225.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.92

$5.93 NPR 917

219.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.02 NPR 313

7.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.16 NPR 179

64.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.43 NPR 222

-3.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$0.53 NPR 82.5

315.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.38 NPR 59.1

189.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$0.53 NPR 82.6

113.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.45 NPR 69.6

144.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.22 NPR 33.95

277.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$2.48 NPR 385

125.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.08

$7.83 NPR 1,212

30.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$2.29 NPR 355

-4.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.18

$3.08 NPR 476

-20.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.17 NPR 26.31

711.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.52

$9.64 NPR 1,493

220.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$1.84 NPR 285

137.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$1.18 NPR 183

-11.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.26

$3.18 NPR 492

438.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.33 NPR 207

73.68%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$28.7K NPR 4.4M

-2.41%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$36.0K NPR 5.6M

-22.21%

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

$210 €187

$31.63 NPR 4,896

563.14%

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

$26.70 €23.80

$3.48 NPR 538

667.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.86

$8.94 NPR 1,385

237.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.68

$21.47 NPR 3,324

154.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.21

$6.71 NPR 1,039

287.93%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.61

$3.00 NPR 465

259.33%

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

$575 €513

$66.8 NPR 10.3K

760.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$5,541 NPR 857.7K

136.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$24.59 NPR 3,807

278.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.27

$26.39 NPR 4,085

54.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.8

$63.1 NPR 9,764

64.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €114

$28.31 NPR 4,382

353.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$216 NPR 33.5K

249.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$101 NPR 15.6K

546.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,153

$430 NPR 66.5K

201.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,037

$198 NPR 30.6K

487.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,574

$2,248 NPR 348.0K

78.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,078

$1,338 NPR 207.2K

157.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,109

$264 NPR 40.9K

370.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

9.72

-53.91%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Kathmandu: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Kathmandu

$101 21% 84.5% $552

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Kathmandu

$144 30.1% 54.1% $170

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Kathmandu

$81 16.9% 69.8% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Kathmandu

$44 9.2% 83.5% $223

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Kathmandu

$64 13.4% 61.1% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Kathmandu

$27 5.7% 63.9% $49

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Kathmandu

$18 3.8% 60.7% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Athens and $216 in Kathmandu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 370% 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: $66.0 in Athens vs $20.00 in Kathmandu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $144 per month, with Kathmandu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇳🇵 Kathmandu

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

15:52 3:52 PM

2 h 45 min ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

975,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Nepalese Rupee NPR रु

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 NPR = 6.46 USD

1,000 NPR = 5.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NPR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Nepalese Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 155 NPR (1,000 NPR = 6.46 USD). 1 EUR = 173 NPR (1,000 NPR = 5.76 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Kathmandu 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Kathmandu

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 Kathmandu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kathmandu wins on cost – living expenses run 275% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kathmandu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 370% higher in Athens, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Athens versus $216 in Kathmandu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kathmandu – a meal for two runs $20.00 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,806 per month in Athens versus $481 in Kathmandu – a 275% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $481 in Kathmandu versus $1,806 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kathmandu but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Kathmandu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kathmandu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $481 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kathmandu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Kathmandu 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 Kathmandu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 275% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.