Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Marsaxlokk

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $1,977 in Marsaxlokk, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Marsaxlokk
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Marsaxlokk Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Marsaxlokk

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Marsaxlokk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,977 in Marsaxlokk.

Athens $1,775
Marsaxlokk $1,977

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $2,954 in Marsaxlokk.

Athens $2,721
Marsaxlokk $2,954

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $3,930 in Marsaxlokk.

Athens $3,666
Marsaxlokk $3,930

Living in Athens costs roughly 10% less than in Marsaxlokk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 31% above, Marsaxlokk 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$19.90 €17.70

-16.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$86.5 €77.0

-21.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$13.55 €12.05

-17.79%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.72 €2.42

48.16%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$3.06 €2.72

-9.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$2.19 €1.95

-74.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$4.45 €3.96

28.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$5.26 €4.68

3.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.36 €1.21

33.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.36 €1.21

1.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$4.26 €3.79

-34.27%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$4.35 €3.87

11.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$7.98 €7.10

88.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$10.54 €9.38

0.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$18.00 €16.01

2.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$4.05 €3.60

-45.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.82 €2.51

-32.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$3.63 €3.23

-62.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.44 €3.06

-38.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.43 €2.17

-55.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.98 €1.76

-43.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$2.28 €2.03

-50.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.33 €1.18

-33.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$6.82 €6.07

-19.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$8.00 €7.12

26.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.72 €1.53

23.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.35 €2.09

-4.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$2.09 €1.86

-34.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$5.73 €5.09

-22.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$2.24 €2.00

-54.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$26.37 €23.46

-35.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.54 €1.37

46.10%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$37.8K €33.6K

-25.84%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$38.4K €34.1K

-26.44%

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

$205 €182

$104 €92.6

96.50%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$25.79 €22.94

3.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$43.59 €38.78

-30.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$69.4 €61.8

-21.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$10.09 €8.97

3.27%

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

$569 €506

$368 €327

54.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$11.1K €9,835

13.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$88.2 €78.5

0.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$40.80 €36.29

-0.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$98.1 €87.2

7.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$77.5 €69.0

56.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$1,056 €940

-29.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$938 €835

-30.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$1,937 €1,723

-32.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$1,413 €1,257

-18.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$3,795 €3,376

5.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$2,478 €2,204

39.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

2.9

54.48%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Marsaxlokk: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Marsaxlokk

$938 47.5% 43.4% $284

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Marsaxlokk

$327 16.5% 5.3% $16

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Marsaxlokk

$286 14.5% 6.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Marsaxlokk

$174 8.8% 33.7% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Marsaxlokk

$137 6.9% 14.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Marsaxlokk

$90 4.5% 18.9% $14

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Marsaxlokk

$25 * 1.3% 43.6% $20

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 $1,056 in Marsaxlokk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $87.0 in Marsaxlokk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $327 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇲🇹 Marsaxlokk

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

19:06 7:06 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

3,500

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Athens Marsaxlokk 850 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

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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 Marsaxlokk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Marsaxlokk. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,662 in Athens and $2,966 in Marsaxlokk 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 $1,056 in Marsaxlokk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $368 in Marsaxlokk. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $87.0 in Marsaxlokk. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $1,977 in Marsaxlokk, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Marsaxlokk. 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 Marsaxlokk 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 11% less than in Marsaxlokk. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.