Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Mandal

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $2,676 in Mandal, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
134

Cost of Living Index in Mandal
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Mandal Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Mandal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,676

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Mandal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $2,676 in Mandal.

Athens $1,775
Mandal $2,676

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $4,083 in Mandal.

Athens $2,721
Mandal $4,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $5,489 in Mandal.

Athens $3,666
Mandal $5,489

Living in Athens costs roughly 34% less than in Mandal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 31% above, Mandal 98% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$25.13 NOK 237

-33.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$95.9 NOK 902

-29.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$15.40 NOK 145

-27.66%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$6.19 NOK 58.3

-34.89%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$5.22 NOK 49.16

-46.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$4.33 NOK 40.79

-87.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$13.54 NOK 127

-57.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$12.24 NOK 115

-55.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$2.23 NOK 20.96

-18.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$3.45 NOK 32.48

-60.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$3.85 NOK 36.26

-27.27%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$3.08 NOK 28.98

56.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$13.34 NOK 126

12.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$16.74 NOK 158

-36.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$35.07 NOK 330

-47.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$3.44 NOK 32.34

-36.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.76 NOK 25.94

-31.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$3.47 NOK 32.64

-60.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$4.94 NOK 46.52

-57.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.56 NOK 24.06

-57.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.98 NOK 28.07

-62.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.59 NOK 14.93

-29.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$2.29 NOK 21.53

-61.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$17.56 NOK 165

-68.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$18.44 NOK 174

-45.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$3.20 NOK 30.14

-33.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.92 NOK 27.52

-22.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$5.21 NOK 49.04

-73.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

$93.3 NOK 878

-67.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$5.61 NOK 52.8

-20.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.18 NOK 11.10

-13.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$104 NOK 977

-83.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.17 NOK 20.40

3.69%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$48.1K NOK 452.9K

-41.73%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$41.5K NOK 390.9K

-32.02%

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

$205 €182

$241 NOK 2,269

-15.11%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$34.97 NOK 329

-23.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$83.0 NOK 781

-63.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$49.37 NOK 465

10.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$34.13 NOK 321

-24.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$21.90 NOK 206

-52.42%

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

$569 €506

$319 NOK 2,998

78.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$14.0K NOK 131.9K

-10.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$126 NOK 1,189

-29.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$60.7 NOK 571

-33.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$150 NOK 1,409

-29.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$203 NOK 1,910

-40.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$1,198 NOK 11.3K

-38.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$912 NOK 8,584

-28.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$2,038 NOK 19.2K

-36.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$1,563 NOK 14.7K

-26.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$5,532 NOK 52.1K

-27.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$4,103 NOK 38.6K

-15.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$4,367 NOK 41.1K

-71.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

5.27

-14.99%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mandal: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Mandal

$912 34.1% 39.3% $257

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Mandal

$492 18.4% 58.5% $181

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Mandal

$452 16.9% 68.6% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Mandal

$359 13.4% 37.2% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Mandal

$243 9.1% 51.8% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Mandal

$93 3.5% 23.7% $18

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Mandal

$126 4.7% 180% $81

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $1,198 in Mandal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mandal pays 252% 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 $96.0 in Mandal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $492 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇳🇴 Mandal

🕒 Local time

19:27 7:27 PM

18:27 6:27 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

11,477

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Mandal 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Mandal

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 Mandal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Mandal. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 252% lower in Mandal. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $741 in Athens versus $1,198 in Mandal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $96.0 in Mandal. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,775 per month in Athens versus $2,676 in Mandal – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $2,676 in Mandal, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Mandal. The gap between the two cities makes Athens the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Athens delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,775 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Mandal 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 Athens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Mandal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.