Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,026 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
Learn more

Sanaa Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,026

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Sanaa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $1,026 in Sanaa.

Athens $1,779
Sanaa $1,026

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,621 in Sanaa.

Athens $2,721
Sanaa $1,621

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $2,216 in Sanaa.

Athens $3,663
Sanaa $2,216

Living in Athens is roughly 73% more expensive than in Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Sanaa is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$6.50 YER 1,532

158.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$25.10 YER 5,922

162.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.98

$9.34 YER 2,203

20.02%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 YER 486

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 YER 617

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$3.81 YER 898

7.09%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$1.16 YER 274

138.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.55 YER 131

-1.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.07

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$2.08 YER 490

-11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.69 YER 398

-15.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.97 YER 465

35.53%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$3.68 YER 868

34.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.44

$17.49 YER 4,125

-13.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$8.40 YER 1,982

30.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.60

$18.63 YER 4,395

6.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$3.29 YER 775

-35.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.06 YER 249

86.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.18

$2.18 YER 514

-38.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.75 YER 413

23.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$1.47 YER 348

-27.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.37 YER 322

-16.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.24 YER 293

-12.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.65 YER 153

30.77%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.55 YER 602

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 438

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 603

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$5.35 YER 1,263

2.06%

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

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.44 YER 104

206.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

$85.4 YER 20.1K

-64.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$4.12 YER 971

-7.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$2.14 YER 506

-51.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$7.08 YER 1,670

132.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$2.07 YER 488

13.04%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$16.9K YER 4.0M

64.30%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$34.5K YER 8.1M

-22.96%

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

$202 €180

$108 YER 25.5K

87.29%

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

$26.81 €23.87

$23.43 YER 5,527

14.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.14

$101 YER 23.9K

-69.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.14

$66.5 YER 15.7K

-18.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.40

$16.39 YER 3,868

67.18%

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$6.09 YER 1,437

71.43%

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

$568 €505

$117 YER 27.7K

383.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$2,329 YER 549.4K

551.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$41.90 YER 9,885

116.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.01

$124 YER 29.2K

-68.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$47.93 YER 11.3K

119.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$41.17 YER 9,714

213.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$218 YER 51.5K

239.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €577

$94.8 YER 22.4K

583.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$406 YER 95.9K

212.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$271 YER 63.9K

313.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,561

$4,212 YER 993.6K

-5.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,921

$812 YER 191.6K

304.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$194 YER 45.7K

543.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

11.25

-60.53%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Sanaa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Sanaa

$95 9.2% 85.4% $554

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Sanaa

$271 26.4% 14.4% $46

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Sanaa

$133 12.9% 51.2% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Sanaa

$233 22.7% 10.4% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Sanaa

$115 11.2% 30% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Sanaa

$79 7.7% 4.9% $3.7

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Sanaa

$102 9.9% 127% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $742 in Athens and $218 in Sanaa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $25 in Sanaa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $271 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

10:41 10:41 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Athens Sanaa 3,220 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

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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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa wins on cost – living expenses run 42% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sanaa the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 6.4 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 $218 in Sanaa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Sanaa – a meal for two runs $25 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 $1,026 in Sanaa – Sanaa is about 42% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sanaa is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Sanaa wins on affordability, Athens on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.