Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Port Elizabeth

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Elizabeth: $1,233 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Port Elizabeth
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Port Elizabeth Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Port Elizabeth

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Port Elizabeth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $1,233 in Port Elizabeth.

Athens $1,806
Port Elizabeth $1,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $1,847 in Port Elizabeth.

Athens $2,731
Port Elizabeth $1,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $2,461 in Port Elizabeth.

Athens $3,656
Port Elizabeth $2,461

Living in Athens is roughly 46% more expensive than in Port Elizabeth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 35% above, Port Elizabeth is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$10.62 R 175

56.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$42.87 R 707

54.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

$6.02 R 99.3

83.72%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$2.12 R 35.03

95.28%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$1.04 R 17.24

169.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.72 R 11.93

-20.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$2.76 R 45.50

104.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$3.06 R 50.5

78.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.14 R 18.74

71.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.04 R 17.10

35.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$1.44 R 23.78

96.53%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$2.81 R 46.33

79.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$8.58 R 142

78.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$5.47 R 90.2

89.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$8.28 R 137

129.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.11 R 34.80

2.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.54 R 25.46

24.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.61 R 26.56

-14.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.78 R 29.43

23.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.73 R 28.56

-36.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$1.42 R 23.46

-20.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.29 R 21.27

-14.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.01 R 16.70

-17.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$3.13 R 51.6

78.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$4.82 R 79.6

111.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.25 R 20.63

74.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.82 R 30.06

34.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.09 R 17.96

26.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

$36.08 R 595

-14.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$2.12 R 35.03

106.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.50 R 8.20

108.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

$8.45 R 139

102.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.45 R 23.86

59.31%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$35.4K R 584.3K

-20.98%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$34.0K R 561.2K

-17.64%

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

$210 €187

$123 R 2,024

70.97%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$35.08 R 579

-23.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$45.22 R 746

-33.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$31.88 R 526

71.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

$22.73 R 375

14.52%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$10.61 R 175

1.60%

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

$575 €513

$176 R 2,902

226.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$6,192 R 102.2K

111.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$70.6 R 1,164

32.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$38.27 R 631

6.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$110 R 1,807

-4.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$96.5 R 1,593

32.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$612 R 10.1K

23.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$418 R 6,891

56.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$805 R 13.3K

60.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$689 R 11.4K

68.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$750 R 12.4K

434.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$531 R 8,754

550.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$1,612 R 26.6K

-22.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.94

-62.48%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Port Elizabeth

$418 34.4% 36% $235

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Port Elizabeth

$197 16.2% 37.5% $118

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Port Elizabeth

$155 12.8% 42.2% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Port Elizabeth

$203 16.7% 23.9% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Port Elizabeth

$142 11.7% 14% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Port Elizabeth

$53 4.4% 30.3% $23

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Port Elizabeth

$45 3.7% 2% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Athens and $612 in Port Elizabeth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Port Elizabeth pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Athens vs $43.00 in Port Elizabeth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $197 per month, with Port Elizabeth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Port Elizabeth

🕒 Local time

15:28 3:28 PM

14:28 2:28 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,050,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Port Elizabeth 8,000 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Port Elizabeth

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 Port Elizabeth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Port Elizabeth wins on cost – living expenses run 46% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Port Elizabeth the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 30% lower in Port Elizabeth. 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: $756 in Athens versus $612 in Port Elizabeth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Port Elizabeth – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,806 per month in Athens versus $1,233 in Port Elizabeth – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,233 in Port Elizabeth versus $1,806 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Elizabeth but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Port Elizabeth the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Port Elizabeth delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,233 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Port Elizabeth hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Port Elizabeth 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 Port Elizabeth gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.