Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Sabac

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabac: $840 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Sabac
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Sabac Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Sabac

🇷🇸 Serbia

$840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Sabac

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Athens versus $840 in Sabac.

Athens $1,771
Sabac $840

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,736 in Athens versus $1,276 in Sabac.

Athens $2,736
Sabac $1,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,701 in Athens versus $1,712 in Sabac.

Athens $3,701
Sabac $1,712

Living in Athens is roughly 111% more expensive than in Sabac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Sabac is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$8.23 RSD 858

104.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 €60.7

$27.55 RSD 2,872

147.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 €10.17

$6.71 RSD 700

70.34%

Cappuccino

$4.06 €3.61

$1.87 RSD 195

117.11%

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

$2.74 €2.44

$1.87 RSD 195

46.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$1.40 RSD 146

-62.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

$2.63 RSD 274

116.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

$2.63 RSD 274

115.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.31 RSD 136

41.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$0.62 RSD 65.0

132.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.92 RSD 200

46.87%

Eggs

$4.86 €4.32

$1.89 RSD 197

157.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 €13.58

$5.65 RSD 589

170.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.21

$6.31 RSD 658

64.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 €16.99

$11.48 RSD 1,197

66.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.24 RSD 129

79.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.80 RSD 188

6.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.45 RSD 151

-2.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.88 RSD 196

8.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$0.70 RSD 72.6

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$0.35 RSD 36.08

234.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.00 RSD 105

8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$0.40 RSD 41.90

110.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.89

$3.61 RSD 377

52.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

$7.74 RSD 807

31.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$0.66 RSD 68.4

222.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.94 RSD 97.6

142.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.93 RSD 97.1

47.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.90

$1.39 RSD 145

215.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.95 RSD 98.9

5.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$5.11 RSD 532

225.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 €2.11

$1.76 RSD 183

35.23%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$30.3K RSD 3.2M

-6.16%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$24.4K RSD 2.5M

11.36%

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

$203 €181

$138 RSD 14.4K

47.60%

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

$26.79 €23.83

$25.50 RSD 2,658

5.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 €26.82

$18.96 RSD 1,976

59.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

$29.17 RSD 3,041

84.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

$11.44 RSD 1,192

130.77%

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 €9.42

$5.58 RSD 581

89.78%

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

$566 €504

$176 RSD 18.3K

221.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

$3,770 RSD 393.0K

241.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 €79.3

$59.8 RSD 6,238

48.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 €36.01

$64.5 RSD 6,721

-37.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.3

$56.6 RSD 5,898

83.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$118 RSD 12.3K

5.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

$234 RSD 24.4K

211.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

$151 RSD 15.7K

328.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

$345 RSD 35.9K

285.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$250 RSD 26.1K

366.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

$1,884 RSD 196.4K

113.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

$1,514 RSD 157.8K

130.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,240 €1,103

$962 RSD 100.3K

28.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

4.84

-7.44%

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

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Last update for Sabac: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$647 36.5%

Sabac

$151 18% 76.7% $496

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.6%

Sabac

$182 21.7% 41.8% $131

Eating Out

Athens

$271 15.3%

Sabac

$140 16.7% 48.3% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.7%

Sabac

$182 21.7% 30% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.1%

Sabac

$135 16% 16.4% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Sabac

$40 4.8% 46.1% $35

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Sabac

$9.9 * 1.2% 77.9% $35

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 $729 in Athens and $234 in Sabac. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 29% 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 Sabac for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $182 per month, with Sabac cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇷🇸 Sabac

🕒 Local time

15:25 3:25 PM

14:25 2:25 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

51,163

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Sabac 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Sabac

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 Sabac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabac wins on cost – living expenses run 111% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sabac the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 29% 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: $729 in Athens versus $234 in Sabac. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $566 in Athens versus $176 in Sabac. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sabac – 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.

At $840 in Sabac versus $1,771 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sabac but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Sabac the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sabac delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $840 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sabac hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Sabac 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 Sabac gentler on the wallet – expenses run 111% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.