Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Rawalpindi

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawalpindi: $503 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Athens, Greece
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Athens
🇬🇷 Greece
$1,779
/mo nomad
Rawalpindi
🇵🇰 Pakistan
$503
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Rawalpindi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $503 in Rawalpindi.

  • Athens $1,779
  • Rawalpindi $503

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $788 in Rawalpindi.

  • Athens $2,721
  • Rawalpindi $788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,072 in Rawalpindi.

  • Athens $3,663
  • Rawalpindi $1,072

Living in Athens is roughly 254% more expensive than in Rawalpindi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Rawalpindi is 63% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.83 €14.99
$2.09 PKR 578
705.26%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$66.0 €58.8
$16.18 PKR 4,473
307.91%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.21 €9.98
$6.03 PKR 1,667
85.90%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$1.76 PKR 486
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.48 PKR 961
-
Cappuccino
$4.08 €3.64
$1.94 PKR 537
110.31%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.77 €2.47
$0.44 PKR 121
529.55%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.54 €0.48
$0.25 PKR 69.5
116.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.70 €5.07
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.26 €5.58
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.84 €1.64
$0.91 PKR 253
102.20%
White Bread (500g)
$1.43 €1.27
$0.59 PKR 164
142.37%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.67 €2.38
$1.24 PKR 343
115.32%
Eggs
$4.95 €4.41
$1.14 PKR 314
334.21%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.09 €13.44
$6.38 PKR 1,764
136.52%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.99 €9.79
$3.54 PKR 978
210.45%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.77 €17.60
$5.19 PKR 1,435
280.92%
Apples (1kg)
$2.12 €1.89
$1.18 PKR 327
79.66%
Banana (1kg)
$1.98 €1.76
$0.89 PKR 246
122.47%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.33 €1.18
$1.24 PKR 342
7.26%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.16 €1.92
$0.58 PKR 160
272.41%
Potato (1kg)
$1.06 €0.94
$0.35 PKR 97.5
202.86%
Onion (1kg)
$1.15 €1.02
$0.48 PKR 133
139.58%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.08 €0.96
$0.35 PKR 95.4
208.57%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.85 €0.75
$0.39 PKR 108
117.95%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$16.25 PKR 4,492
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.22 PKR 336
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.49 PKR 687
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.46 €4.86
$1.97 PKR 546
177.16%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.03 €8.93
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.04 €1.82
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.38 €2.12
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.35 €1.20
$0.17 PKR 46.93
694.12%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$30.52 €27.18
$9.81 PKR 2,710
211.11%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.81 €3.39
$0.87 PKR 240
337.93%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.03 €0.92
$0.38 PKR 104
171.05%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.49 €14.68
$2.99 PKR 827
451.51%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.34 €2.09
$1.19 PKR 328
96.64%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.8K €24.7K
$19.1K PKR 5.3M
45.62%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.6K €23.7K
$23.6K PKR 6.5M
12.81%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$202 €180
$112 PKR 31.1K
79.83%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.81 €23.87
$5.60 PKR 1,548
378.75%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.49 €27.14
$18.77 PKR 5,187
62.44%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.1 €48.14
$12.23 PKR 3,381
342.11%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$27.40 €24.40
$7.62 PKR 2,107
259.58%
Cinema Ticket
$10.44 €9.30
$4.25 PKR 1,174
145.65%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$568 €505
$49.55 PKR 13.7K
1045.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$15.2K €13.5K
$1,057 PKR 292.0K
1336.80%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$90.7 €80.7
$17.14 PKR 4,737
428.88%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.32 €35.01
$32.15 PKR 8,885
22.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$105 €93.7
$91.8 PKR 25.4K
14.66%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$129 €115
$36.65 PKR 10.1K
251.90%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$742 €661
$184 PKR 50.8K
303.68%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$648 €577
$87.4 PKR 24.1K
642.17%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,271 €1,132
$383 PKR 105.8K
232.19%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,122 €999
$224 PKR 61.8K
401.23%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,999 €3,561
$1,016 PKR 280.7K
293.78%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,281 €2,921
$433 PKR 119.6K
658.27%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Athens
Rawalpindi
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,245 €1,109
$171 PKR 47.3K
627.86%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.44
22.81
-80.53%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Rawalpindi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Athens
$648
Rawalpindi
$87 86.5% $561
Groceries & Markets
Athens
$316
Rawalpindi
$104 67.1% $212
Eating Out
Athens
$272
Rawalpindi
$61 77.6% $211
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Athens
$260
Rawalpindi
$137 47.3% $123
Clothing & Footwear
Athens
$164
Rawalpindi
$80 51.2% $84
Sport & Entertainment
Athens
$75
Rawalpindi
$21 72.3% $54
Getting Around
Athens
$45
Rawalpindi
$13 70.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $184 in Rawalpindi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 7.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $16 in Rawalpindi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $104 per month, with Rawalpindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇬🇷 Athens
🇵🇰 Rawalpindi
🕒 Local time
06:18 6:18 AM
09:18 9:18 AM
3 h ahead of Athens
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,090,508 Capital
2,098,231
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 276 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.62 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Athens Rawalpindi 4,420 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Athens
  • Rawalpindi

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 Rawalpindi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Athens or Rawalpindi?
Rawalpindi wins on cost – living expenses run 72% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Rawalpindi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Athens or in Rawalpindi?
Average pay in Athens is about 7.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Athens compared to Rawalpindi?
Rent for a central apartment: $742 in Athens versus $184 in Rawalpindi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do dining costs compare in Athens and in Rawalpindi?
Dining out is cheaper in Rawalpindi – a meal for two runs $16 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How much does it cost to live in Athens compared to Rawalpindi?
All in, you’ll spend $1,779 per month in Athens versus $503 in Rawalpindi – Rawalpindi is about 72% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
Can you live on $1,200/month in Athens or in Rawalpindi?
At $503 in Rawalpindi versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Rawalpindi but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Rawalpindi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city offers a better quality of life: Athens or Rawalpindi?
Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Rawalpindi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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