Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Medea

For one person, living is cheaper in Medea: $452 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Medea
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Medea Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Medea

🇩🇿 Algeria

$452

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Medea

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $452 in Medea.

Athens $1,775
Medea $452

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $773 in Medea.

Athens $2,721
Medea $773

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $1,095 in Medea.

Athens $3,666
Medea $1,095

Living in Athens is roughly 293% more expensive than in Medea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Medea is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$1.91 DZD 256

773.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$28.16 DZD 3,771

140.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$3.97 DZD 532

180.60%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$0.37 DZD 49.16

989.19%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$0.40 DZD 53.9

592.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.19 DZD 26.00

189.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.26 DZD 303

153.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.28 DZD 305

139.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.89 DZD 119

104.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.09 DZD 11.91

1433.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.14 DZD 153

145.61%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$1.17 DZD 157

312.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.02 DZD 1,074

87.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$3.85 DZD 515

176.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$14.49 DZD 1,941

27.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.00 DZD 268

10.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.77 DZD 370

-31.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.08 DZD 144

26.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.55 DZD 73.0

281.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.57 DZD 76.3

89.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.49 DZD 65.0

128.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.80 DZD 108

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.27 DZD 36.50

225.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$2.07 DZD 277

164.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$6.59 DZD 882

53.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.27 DZD 170

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.91 DZD 256

17.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.21 DZD 28.23

547.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

$6.77 DZD 906

341.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.54 DZD 72.6

724.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.46 DZD 62.2

121.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$5.54 DZD 741

205.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$0.36 DZD 47.76

525.00%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$18.9K DZD 2.5M

48.04%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$34.9K DZD 4.7M

-19.12%

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

$205 €182

$18.45 DZD 2,470

1008.94%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$7.91 DZD 1,059

236.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$12.23 DZD 1,638

148.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$22.02 DZD 2,948

147.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$1.89 DZD 254

1269.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$3.29 DZD 440

216.72%

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

$569 €506

$38.35 DZD 5,134

1384.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$6,214 DZD 831.9K

102.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$19.56 DZD 2,619

353.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$31.40 DZD 4,204

28.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$30.44 DZD 4,075

244.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$53.5 DZD 7,159

126.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$146 DZD 19.6K

406.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$91.4 DZD 12.2K

615.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$273 DZD 36.6K

375.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$192 DZD 25.7K

498.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$969 DZD 129.8K

314.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$1,029 DZD 137.8K

236.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$310 DZD 41.6K

300.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

-10.40%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medea: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Medea

$91 20.3% 86% $563

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Medea

$172 38.1% 44.6% $138

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Medea

$50 11.1% 81.4% $218

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Medea

$39 8.5% 85.3% $223

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Medea

$61 13.4% 62% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Medea

$29 6.3% 62% $47

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Medea

$10 2.3% 76.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $146 in Medea. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 300% 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 $28.00 in Medea for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $172 per month, with Medea cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇩🇿 Medea

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

11:36 11:36 AM

2 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

138,355

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 134 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Medea 1,860 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Athens
Medea

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 Medea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medea wins on cost – living expenses run 293% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Medea the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 300% 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: $741 in Athens versus $146 in Medea. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medea – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. 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 $452 in Medea – a 293% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $452 in Medea versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medea but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Medea the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medea delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $452 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medea hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Medea 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 Medea gentler on the wallet – expenses run 293% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.