Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
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Sabratha Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Sabratha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $406 in Sabratha.

Athens $1,775
Sabratha $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $597 in Sabratha.

Athens $2,721
Sabratha $597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $787 in Sabratha.

Athens $3,666
Sabratha $787

Living in Athens is roughly 337% more expensive than in Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Sabratha is 70% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$3.04 LYD 19.46

449.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$9.22 LYD 59.1

635.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$1.52 LYD 9.75

632.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$0.48 LYD 3.09

739.58%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$0.30 LYD 1.90

823.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.07 LYD 0.44

685.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.89 LYD 5.67

104.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.22 LYD 1.41

527.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.10 LYD 7.07

154.55%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$1.37 LYD 8.76

252.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$5.27 LYD 33.79

185.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$3.48 LYD 22.32

205.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$9.58 LYD 61.4

92.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.00 LYD 12.79

10.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.54 LYD 9.89

23.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.73 LYD 4.70

87.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$0.57 LYD 3.64

268.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.49 LYD 3.13

120.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.29 LYD 1.89

286.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$0.32 LYD 2.06

250.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.17 LYD 1.06

417.65%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 LYD 5.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LYD 5.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$1.84 LYD 11.79

197.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.75 LYD 4.80

81.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.76 LYD 4.88

485.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.30 LYD 1.89

240.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$0.81 LYD 5.22

1988.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$0.02 LYD 0.14

11150.00%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$22.9K LYD 146.9K

22.30%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$21.3K LYD 136.5K

32.58%

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

$205 €182

$92.0 LYD 590

122.34%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$3.99 LYD 25.56

567.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$13.73 LYD 88.0

121.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$10.85 LYD 69.5

402.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$7.74 LYD 49.62

234.37%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

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

$569 €506

$39.51 LYD 253

1340.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$945 LYD 6,055

1231.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$19.54 LYD 125

353.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$17.60 LYD 113

129.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$64.6 LYD 414

62.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$15.66 LYD 100

674.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$158 LYD 1,011

369.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$78.2 LYD 501

737.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$229 LYD 1,466

468.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$110 LYD 705

942.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$281 LYD 1,802

1327.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$185 LYD 1,183

1774.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$189 LYD 1,212

556.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Sabratha

$78 19.3% 88.1% $576

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Sabratha

$113 27.9% 63.5% $197

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Sabratha

$36 8.9% 86.5% $232

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Sabratha

$110 27% 58.1% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Sabratha

$53 13% 67% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 85.6% $64

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Sabratha

$5.2 * 1.3% 88.3% $40

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 $741 in Athens and $158 in Sabratha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 557% 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 $9.00 in Sabratha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $113 per month, with Sabratha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

20:40 8:40 PM

19:40 7:40 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

83,398

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Athens Sabratha 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
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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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabratha wins on cost – living expenses run 337% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sabratha the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 557% 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 $158 in Sabratha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $39.51 in Sabratha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sabratha – a meal for two runs $9.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $406 in Sabratha versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sabratha but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Sabratha the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sabratha delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $406 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sabratha hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Sabratha 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 Sabratha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 337% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.