Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $522 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$522

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $522 in Machakos.

Athens $1,779
Machakos $522

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $806 in Machakos.

Athens $2,721
Machakos $806

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,091 in Machakos.

Athens $3,663
Machakos $1,091

Living in Athens is roughly 241% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Machakos is 61% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$3.14 KES 408

435.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$19.49 KES 2,530

238.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.98

$6.52 KES 847

71.93%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$1.95 KES 253

109.23%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.70 KES 90.3

295.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.53 KES 69.2

1.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.07

$2.06 KES 268

176.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$2.74 KES 356

128.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.40 KES 51.7

360.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.45 KES 57.9

217.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$0.80 KES 104

233.75%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.42 KES 185

248.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.44

$10.98 KES 1,425

37.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$6.48 KES 841

69.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.60

$4.72 KES 614

318.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.57 KES 203

35.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.81 KES 105

144.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.18

$0.39 KES 51.1

241.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.37 KES 47.87

483.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.78 KES 102

35.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.74 KES 96.4

55.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.75 KES 96.9

44.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.37 KES 47.51

129.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$3.58 KES 465

52.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$11.74 KES 1,525

-14.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.93 KES 251

5.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$2.70 KES 351

-11.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$0.74 KES 96.5

414.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$0.80 KES 104

28.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$2.87 KES 373

474.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$1.50 KES 195

56.00%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$19.1K KES 2.5M

45.31%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$21.4K KES 2.8M

24.13%

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

$202 €180

$56.7 KES 7,367

256.46%

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

$26.81 €23.87

$7.73 KES 1,004

246.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.14

$11.47 KES 1,489

165.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.14

$38.34 KES 4,978

41.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.40

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$7.78 KES 1,010

34.19%

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

$568 €505

$46.01 KES 5,974

1133.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$11.9K KES 1.5M

27.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$11.44 KES 1,486

692.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.01

$30.26 KES 3,929

29.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$68.8 KES 8,931

52.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$38.58 KES 5,009

234.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$93.6 KES 12.2K

692.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €577

$68.4 KES 8,882

847.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$153 KES 19.9K

729.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$115 KES 14.9K

876.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,561

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,921

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$382 KES 49.6K

225.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

14.71

-69.82%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Machakos: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Machakos

$68 13.1% 89.5% $580

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Machakos

$163 31.2% 48.6% $154

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Machakos

$89 17% 67.3% $183

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Machakos

$76 14.6% 70.7% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 59.1% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Machakos

$54 10.3% 28.1% $21

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 89.4% $40

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 $742 in Athens and $94 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 3.3 times 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 in Athens vs $19 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $163 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

07:40 7:40 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

114,109

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Athens Machakos 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 71% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 3.3 times higher, 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: $742 in Athens versus $94 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $568 in Athens versus $46 in Machakos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Machakos – a meal for two runs $19 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $522 in Machakos versus $1,779 in Athens, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Athens and Machakos are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Machakos wins on affordability, Athens on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.