Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Springs

For one person, living is cheaper in Springs: $978 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Springs
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Springs Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Springs

🇿🇦 South Africa

$978

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Springs

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $978 in Springs.

Athens $1,775
Springs $978

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,592 in Springs.

Athens $2,721
Springs $1,592

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,207 in Springs.

Athens $3,666
Springs $2,207

Living in Athens is roughly 82% more expensive than in Springs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Springs is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$8.81 R 145

89.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$36.24 R 597

87.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$5.23 R 86.1

113.00%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.31 R 38.01

74.46%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$0.96 R 15.82

188.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.69 R 11.41

-20.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$1.84 R 30.23

211.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.08 R 34.21

162.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.19 R 19.61

52.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.03 R 16.96

33.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$1.81 R 29.89

54.70%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$2.46 R 40.51

96.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$8.30 R 137

81.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$5.07 R 83.6

109.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$7.18 R 118

156.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$1.29 R 21.30

70.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.10 R 18.09

72.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.72 R 28.40

-20.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.21 R 19.95

73.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.13 R 18.57

-4.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.18 R 19.49

-5.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.22 R 20.12

-8.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.79 R 13.06

11.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.13 R 51.6

75.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$3.92 R 64.6

158.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.14 R 18.71

86.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.64 R 27.06

37.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$0.31 R 5.17

1335.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$0.75 R 12.38

36.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$14.38 R 237

17.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.46 R 24.05

54.11%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$35.7K R 588.6K

-21.54%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$33.1K R 545.4K

-14.72%

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

$205 €182

$152 R 2,507

34.45%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$37.01 R 610

-27.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$35.97 R 593

-15.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$39.74 R 655

37.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$7.43 R 122

40.24%

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

$569 €506

$91.3 R 1,505

523.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$1,809 R 29.8K

595.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$53.2 R 877

66.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$32.51 R 536

24.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$92.3 R 1,520

13.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$83.3 R 1,373

45.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$293 R 4,825

152.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$268 R 4,420

143.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$736 R 12.1K

76.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$707 R 11.7K

62.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$1,483 R 24.4K

170.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$688 R 11.3K

403.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$1,143 R 18.8K

8.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

10.75

-58.33%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Springs: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Springs

$268 27.4% 59% $386

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Springs

$174 17.8% 43.9% $136

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Springs

$134 13.7% 50.1% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Springs

$225 23% 13.9% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Springs

$118 12% 26.5% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Springs

$55 5.6% 27.5% $21

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Springs

$4.1 * 0.4% 90.9% $41

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 $293 in Springs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 9% 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 $36.00 in Springs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $174 per month, with Springs cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Springs

🕒 Local time

17:01 5:01 PM

16:01 4:01 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

2,996

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Springs 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Springs

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 Springs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Springs wins on cost – living expenses run 82% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Springs the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 9% 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 $293 in Springs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $569 in Athens versus $91.3 in Springs. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Springs – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $978 in Springs versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Springs but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Springs the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Springs delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $978 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Springs hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Springs 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 Springs gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.