Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Paks

For one person, living is cheaper in Paks: $1,150 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Paks
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Paks Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Paks

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,150

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Paks

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,150 in Paks.

Athens $1,775
Paks $1,150

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,715 in Paks.

Athens $2,721
Paks $1,715

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,279 in Paks.

Athens $3,666
Paks $2,279

Living in Athens is roughly 54% more expensive than in Paks, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Paks is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.82

$8.65 Ft 2,787

92.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.2

$30.55 Ft 9,846

121.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.89

$7.31 Ft 2,357

52.39%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$0.87 Ft 281

363.22%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.20 Ft 387

130.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.48

$0.84 Ft 272

-34.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.09

$1.24 Ft 400

362.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.84

$1.94 Ft 625

180.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.16 Ft 375

56.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.22

$0.61 Ft 197

126.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$2.41 Ft 777

16.18%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.29

$3.22 Ft 1,038

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.37

$10.96 Ft 3,532

37.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.44

$6.29 Ft 2,028

69.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.36

$13.34 Ft 4,301

38.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.95

$1.83 Ft 588

20.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.68

$2.08 Ft 671

-8.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.07 Ft 666

-33.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.86

$3.90 Ft 1,257

-46.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.57 Ft 185

89.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.53 Ft 172

111.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.56 Ft 502

-28.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.50 Ft 162

76.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.87

$7.98 Ft 2,572

-31.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €8.99

$6.17 Ft 1,988

64.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.22 Ft 395

74.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.64 Ft 530

37.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.25 Ft 402

8.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.55

$24.22 Ft 7,808

23.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.95

$3.01 Ft 971

47.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.50 Ft 484

-32.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.03

$18.21 Ft 5,871

-7.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €1.99

$1.84 Ft 594

22.28%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$32.6K Ft 10.5M

-14.13%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$36.5K Ft 11.8M

-22.67%

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

$205 €182

$132 Ft 42.6K

54.67%

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

$26.65 €23.67

$10.23 Ft 3,299

160.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €26.98

$11.94 Ft 3,849

154.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.39

$47.58 Ft 15.3K

14.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €22.98

$21.10 Ft 6,801

22.65%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.25

$7.47 Ft 2,407

39.49%

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

$569 €505

$253 Ft 81.4K

125.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$6,945 Ft 2.2M

81.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.7

$89.8 Ft 28.9K

-1.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.93

$13.92 Ft 4,488

190.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.2

$97.3 Ft 31.4K

7.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$105 Ft 33.9K

15.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €658

$529 Ft 170.6K

39.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €581

$405 Ft 130.7K

61.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,154

$755 Ft 243.4K

72.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,019

$641 Ft 206.5K

79.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,565

$3,116 Ft 1.0M

28.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,073

$2,611 Ft 841.6K

32.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,103

$1,276 Ft 411.3K

-2.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

8.25

-45.70%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Paks: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Paks

$405 35.2% 38.1% $249

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Paks

$231 20.1% 25.6% $80

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Paks

$120 10.4% 55.3% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Paks

$154 13.4% 41% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Paks

$138 12% 13.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Paks

$63 5.4% 17% $13

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Paks

$40 3.5% 11.5% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $529 in Paks. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Paks pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $31.00 in Paks for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $231 per month, with Paks cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇭🇺 Paks

🕒 Local time

18:58 6:58 PM

17:58 5:58 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

17,917

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 322 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 362 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Paks 1,040 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Athens
Paks

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 Paks: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Paks wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Paks the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Paks. 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 $529 in Paks. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Paks – a meal for two runs $31.00 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 $1,150 in Paks – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,150 in Paks versus $1,775 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Paks but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Paks the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Paks delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,150 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Paks hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Paks 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 Paks gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.