Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Samarkand

For one person, living is cheaper in Samarkand: $641 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Samarkand
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Samarkand Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Samarkand

🇺🇿 Uzbekistan

$641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Samarkand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $641 in Samarkand.

Athens $1,779
Samarkand $641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,014 in Samarkand.

Athens $2,721
Samarkand $1,014

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,388 in Samarkand.

Athens $3,663
Samarkand $1,388

Living in Athens is roughly 178% more expensive than in Samarkand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Samarkand is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$6.85 UZS 82.0K

145.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$19.76 UZS 236.6K

234.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.99

$4.68 UZS 56.1K

139.53%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$2.49 UZS 29.8K

63.86%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.79 UZS 9,508

250.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.17 UZS 2,032

217.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

$1.72 UZS 20.6K

231.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$2.18 UZS 26.1K

187.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.11 UZS 13.3K

65.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.31 UZS 3,770

361.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.67 UZS 20.0K

59.88%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.32 UZS 15.8K

275.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.45

$8.01 UZS 95.9K

88.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$4.28 UZS 51.3K

156.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.61

$10.79 UZS 129.2K

83.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.81 UZS 9,759

161.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.76 UZS 21.1K

12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.72 UZS 20.6K

-22.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.73 UZS 20.7K

24.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.49 UZS 5,815

116.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.17 UZS 2,007

576.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$0.24 UZS 2,874

350.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.40 UZS 4,819

112.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$1.71 UZS 20.5K

219.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$3.34 UZS 40.0K

200.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$0.99 UZS 11.8K

106.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$2.14 UZS 25.6K

11.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.24 UZS 2,867

462.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

$3.34 UZS 39.9K

813.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$0.35 UZS 4,224

988.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$0.32 UZS 3,892

221.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$3.43 UZS 41.1K

380.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$1.20 UZS 14.4K

95.00%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$17.7K UZS 211.4M

57.25%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$20.7K UZS 247.7M

28.64%

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

$202 €180

$41.05 UZS 491.6K

392.62%

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

$26.81 €23.88

$3.99 UZS 47.8K

571.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.16

$13.48 UZS 161.4K

126.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.17

$39.79 UZS 476.5K

35.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

$6.87 UZS 82.2K

298.84%

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$3.11 UZS 37.3K

235.69%

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

$568 €506

$391 UZS 4.7M

45.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$7,622 UZS 91.3M

99.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.8

$20.69 UZS 247.8K

338.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.03

$41.93 UZS 502.1K

-6.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$76.1 UZS 911.1K

38.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$58.8 UZS 704.2K

119.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$242 UZS 2.9M

207.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €578

$168 UZS 2.0M

285.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$465 UZS 5.6M

173.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$310 UZS 3.7M

261.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,562

$1,260 UZS 15.1M

217.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,923

$554 UZS 6.6M

492.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$301 UZS 3.6M

313.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

23.31

-80.95%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Samarkand: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Samarkand

$168 26.2% 74.1% $480

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Samarkand

$158 24.6% 50.2% $159

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Samarkand

$116 18% 57.5% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Samarkand

$59 9.1% 77.4% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Samarkand

$89 13.9% 45.8% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Samarkand

$46 7.2% 38.6% $29

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Samarkand

$6.3 1% 86% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $242 in Samarkand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $20 in Samarkand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $158 per month, with Samarkand cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇺🇿 Samarkand

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

06:42 6:42 AM

3 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

573,200

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Uzbekistani Som UZS soʻm

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100,000 UZS = 8.35 USD

100,000 UZS = 7.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UZS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Uzbekistani Som exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 11,975 UZS (100,000 UZS = 8.35 USD). 1 EUR = 13,443 UZS (100,000 UZS = 7.44 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Athens Samarkand 3,710 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

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Athens
Samarkand

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 Samarkand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samarkand wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Samarkand the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 4.1 times higher, 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: $742 in Athens versus $242 in Samarkand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Samarkand – a meal for two runs $20 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,779 per month in Athens versus $641 in Samarkand – Samarkand is about 64% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $641 in Samarkand versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Samarkand but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Samarkand the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Athens and Samarkand are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Samarkand gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.