Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Sarajevo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarajevo: $1,204 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Sarajevo
Learn more

Sarajevo Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Sarajevo

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Sarajevo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $1,204 in Sarajevo.

Athens $1,806
Sarajevo $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $1,807 in Sarajevo.

Athens $2,731
Sarajevo $1,807

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $2,410 in Sarajevo.

Athens $3,656
Sarajevo $2,410

Living in Athens is roughly 50% more expensive than in Sarajevo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 35% above, Sarajevo is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$8.60 BAM 15.01

93.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$39.59 BAM 69.1

67.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

$8.48 BAM 14.79

30.42%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$2.33 BAM 4.06

77.68%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$2.23 BAM 3.88

25.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$1.41 BAM 2.47

-59.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$2.94 BAM 5.12

91.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$2.91 BAM 5.08

87.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.16 BAM 2.02

68.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.17 BAM 2.05

20.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$2.22 BAM 3.87

27.48%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$3.08 BAM 5.37

63.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$10.33 BAM 18.02

48.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$7.73 BAM 13.49

33.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$14.14 BAM 24.67

34.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.42 BAM 2.48

52.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.70 BAM 2.96

12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.57 BAM 2.74

-12.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.98 BAM 3.46

11.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$0.98 BAM 1.71

12.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$1.14 BAM 1.99

-0.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.07 BAM 1.86

2.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.71 BAM 1.24

16.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$4.02 BAM 7.01

39.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$8.02 BAM 13.98

27.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$0.89 BAM 1.56

144.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.42 BAM 2.47

72.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.24 BAM 2.17

11.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

$35.01 BAM 61.1

-11.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$1.47 BAM 2.56

197.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$1.12 BAM 1.96

-7.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

$8.61 BAM 15.02

98.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.74 BAM 3.03

32.76%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$29.9K BAM 52.2K

-6.51%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$23.2K BAM 40.5K

20.75%

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

$210 €187

$220 BAM 384

-4.79%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$14.25 BAM 24.86

87.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$28.24 BAM 49.28

6.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$40.15 BAM 70.1

35.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

$19.66 BAM 34.30

32.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$6.68 BAM 11.66

61.38%

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

$575 €513

$206 BAM 359

179.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$3,856 BAM 6,727

240.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$88.6 BAM 155

5.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$37.30 BAM 65.1

9.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$89.4 BAM 156

16.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$99.4 BAM 173

29.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$449 BAM 783

68.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$305 BAM 533

113.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$997 BAM 1,740

29.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$587 BAM 1,024

98.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$3,243 BAM 5,658

23.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$2,384 BAM 4,159

44.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$1,023 BAM 1,785

21.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

4.08

9.80%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sarajevo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Sarajevo

$305 25.5% 53.2% $347

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Sarajevo

$231 19.3% 26.5% $83

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Sarajevo

$157 13.1% 41.5% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Sarajevo

$263 21.9% 1.4% $3.8

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Sarajevo

$142 11.8% 14.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Sarajevo

$54 4.5% 29.7% $23

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Sarajevo

$47 3.9% 2.4% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Athens and $449 in Sarajevo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 22% 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: $66.0 in Athens vs $40.00 in Sarajevo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $231 per month, with Sarajevo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇧🇦 Sarajevo

🕒 Local time

06:23 6:23 AM

05:23 5:23 AM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

271,194 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BAM = 0.573 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.573 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Sarajevo 790 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Sarajevo

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 Sarajevo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sarajevo wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sarajevo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 22% 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: $756 in Athens versus $449 in Sarajevo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Sarajevo – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,806 per month in Athens versus $1,204 in Sarajevo – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Sarajevo versus $1,806 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sarajevo but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Sarajevo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sarajevo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,204 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sarajevo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Sarajevo 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 Sarajevo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.