Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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 South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Athens is 38.3% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 52.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Athens is 41.7% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 44.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$10.64 R 176

56.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$41.40 R 683

59.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

$5.60 R 92.4

97.50%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$2.28 R 37.63

81.58%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$1.16 R 19.17

141.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.92 R 15.22

-38.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$2.45 R 40.40

130.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$2.95 R 48.69

85.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.19 R 19.63

64.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.12 R 18.42

25.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$1.79 R 29.58

58.10%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$2.48 R 40.88

103.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$8.08 R 133

89.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$5.13 R 84.7

101.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$7.81 R 129

142.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.87 R 30.78

16.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.66 R 27.42

15.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.77 R 29.15

-22.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.80 R 29.67

22.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.49 R 24.53

-26.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$1.50 R 24.71

-24.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.28 R 21.16

-14.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.09 R 17.97

-23.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$3.22 R 53.2

73.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$4.93 R 81.3

106.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.48 R 24.47

47.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$2.01 R 33.09

21.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.60 R 26.39

-13.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

$60.7 R 1,001

-49.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$1.09 R 17.98

300.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.98 R 16.23

6.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

$7.42 R 122

130.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.49 R 24.63

55.03%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$35.0K R 578.2K

-20.16%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$31.6K R 521.1K

-11.31%

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

$210 €187

$131 R 2,168

59.60%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$34.71 R 573

-23.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$39.94 R 659

-24.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$33.88 R 559

61.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

$11.39 R 188

128.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$7.31 R 121

47.47%

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

$575 €513

$225 R 3,715

155.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$5,485 R 90.5K

139.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$52.0 R 858

79.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$33.30 R 549

22.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$99.4 R 1,640

4.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$87.4 R 1,441

46.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$480 R 7,918

57.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$406 R 6,692

60.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$935 R 15.4K

38.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$796 R 13.1K

46.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$1,111 R 18.3K

260.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$777 R 12.8K

344.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$1,476 R 24.4K

-15.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.23

-60.11%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

South Africa

$406 33.6% 37.8% $247

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

South Africa

$196 16.2% 37.8% $119

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

South Africa

$156 12.9% 42% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

South Africa

$206 17.1% 22.7% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

South Africa

$122 10.1% 25.7% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

South Africa

$49 4% 36.3% $28

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

South Africa

$73 6.1% 59.1% $27

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

12:55 12:55 PM

11:55 11:55 AM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens South Africa 7,460 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
South Africa

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

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