Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Knysna

For one person, living is cheaper in Knysna: $1,198 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Knysna
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Knysna Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Knysna

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,198

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Knysna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Athens versus $1,198 in Knysna.

Athens $1,771
Knysna $1,198

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,736 in Athens versus $1,788 in Knysna.

Athens $2,736
Knysna $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,701 in Athens versus $2,379 in Knysna.

Athens $3,701
Knysna $2,379

Living in Athens is roughly 48% more expensive than in Knysna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Knysna is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$9.64 R 159

74.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 €60.7

$39.13 R 645

74.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 €10.17

$5.73 R 94.5

99.48%

Cappuccino

$4.06 €3.61

$2.11 R 34.70

92.42%

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

$2.74 €2.44

$1.07 R 17.57

156.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$0.72 R 11.84

-26.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

$2.34 R 38.49

143.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

$2.78 R 45.75

104.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.19 R 19.58

55.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.07 R 17.57

34.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.47 R 24.27

91.84%

Eggs

$4.86 €4.32

$2.81 R 46.24

72.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 €13.58

$8.66 R 143

76.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.21

$4.90 R 80.8

111.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 €16.99

$8.09 R 133

136.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.59 R 26.22

39.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.54 R 25.32

24.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.60 R 26.39

-11.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.55 R 25.53

31.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.60 R 26.33

-34.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.39 R 22.83

-15.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.28 R 21.02

-15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$1.03 R 17.00

-18.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.89

$3.24 R 53.5

69.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

$4.97 R 81.9

104.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.21 R 19.91

76.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.54 R 25.44

48.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.49 R 24.49

-8.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.90

$0.62 R 10.21

608.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.56 R 9.30

78.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$8.34 R 137

99.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 €2.11

$1.41 R 23.22

68.79%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$23.6K R 388.8K

20.35%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$27.7K R 455.9K

-1.65%

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

$203 €181

$113 R 1,855

80.69%

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

$26.79 €23.83

$33.83 R 557

-20.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 €26.82

$44.58 R 735

-32.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

$48.38 R 797

10.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

$9.84 R 162

168.29%

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 €9.42

$8.76 R 144

20.89%

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

$566 €504

$182 R 3,001

210.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

$5,898 R 97.2K

118.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 €79.3

$42.18 R 695

111.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 €36.01

$33.77 R 556

19.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.3

$107 R 1,770

-3.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$77.4 R 1,275

60.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

$514 R 8,462

41.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

$480 R 7,912

34.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

$837 R 13.8K

58.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$799 R 13.2K

46.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

$1,001 R 16.5K

301.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

$1,056 R 17.4K

230.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,240 €1,103

$942 R 15.5K

31.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.83

-62.13%

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

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Last update for Knysna: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$647 36.5%

Knysna

$480 40.1% 25.8% $167

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.6%

Knysna

$190 15.9% 39.2% $123

Eating Out

Athens

$271 15.3%

Knysna

$144 12% 46.8% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.7%

Knysna

$191 16% 26.6% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.1%

Knysna

$117 9.8% 27.1% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Knysna

$66 5.5% 12% $9

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Knysna

$9.4 * 0.8% 78.9% $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 $729 in Athens and $514 in Knysna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 32% 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 $39.00 in Knysna for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $190 per month, with Knysna cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Knysna

🕒 Local time

16:08 4:08 PM

15:08 3:08 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

51,078

💱 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 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 Knysna 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Knysna

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 Knysna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Knysna wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Knysna the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 32% 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: $729 in Athens versus $514 in Knysna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $566 in Athens versus $182 in Knysna. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Knysna – 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 $1,198 in Knysna versus $1,771 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Knysna but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Knysna the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Knysna delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,198 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Knysna hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Knysna 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 Knysna gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.