Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Szeged

For one person, living is cheaper in Szeged: $1,227 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Szeged
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Szeged Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Szeged

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,227

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Szeged

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,227 in Szeged.

Athens $1,775
Szeged $1,227

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $1,912 in Szeged.

Athens $2,721
Szeged $1,912

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,596 in Szeged.

Athens $3,666
Szeged $2,596

Living in Athens is roughly 45% more expensive than in Szeged, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Szeged is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.69 €14.84

$8.98 Ft 2,902

85.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$57.4 Ft 18.5K

18.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.14 €9.91

$9.34 Ft 3,018

19.27%

Cappuccino

$4.03 €3.58

$2.41 Ft 777

67.22%

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

$2.77 €2.46

$1.56 Ft 504

77.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$1.33 Ft 429

-58.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.33 Ft 754

146.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.22 Ft 717

145.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.22 Ft 393

49.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.37 Ft 441

0.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.49

$2.42 Ft 781

15.70%

Eggs

$4.83 €4.30

$3.56 Ft 1,150

35.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.05 €13.39

$10.46 Ft 3,378

43.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.63 €9.45

$6.41 Ft 2,070

65.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.43 €16.39

$16.40 Ft 5,298

12.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.28 Ft 737

-3.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 €1.69

$2.21 Ft 716

-14.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$2.05 Ft 662

-33.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.35 Ft 1,082

-37.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.98 Ft 317

10.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.04 Ft 336

7.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.66 Ft 537

-32.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.79

$0.52 Ft 167

69.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.48 €4.88

$8.04 Ft 2,599

-31.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.13 €9.01

$5.45 Ft 1,760

85.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.89

$1.26 Ft 407

69.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.99 Ft 643

13.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.63 Ft 527

-16.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

$29.42 Ft 9,505

1.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.45 €3.96

$3.02 Ft 975

47.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.65 Ft 533

-38.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

$18.15 Ft 5,864

-6.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.90 Ft 615

18.42%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$29.5K Ft 9.5M

-4.95%

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

$28.2K €25.1K

$37.9K Ft 12.2M

-25.46%

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

$205 €182

$127 Ft 40.9K

61.43%

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

$26.65 €23.71

$21.61 Ft 6,981

23.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.02

$20.17 Ft 6,515

50.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.47

$46.93 Ft 15.2K

16.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

$29.12 Ft 9,409

-11.13%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 €9.27

$8.59 Ft 2,775

21.30%

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

$569 €506

$248 Ft 80.2K

129.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$6,658 Ft 2.2M

89.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 €78.9

$114 Ft 36.9K

-22.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.46 €35.99

$32.26 Ft 10.4K

25.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.3

$94.2 Ft 30.4K

11.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$114 Ft 36.7K

6.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 €659

$523 Ft 168.9K

41.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 €582

$380 Ft 122.9K

72.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,300 €1,156

$761 Ft 245.8K

70.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

$603 Ft 194.7K

90.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

$3,103 Ft 1.0M

29.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

$2,320 Ft 749.4K

49.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,242 €1,105

$1,234 Ft 398.7K

0.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

6.67

-32.83%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Szeged: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$655 36.9%

Szeged

$380 31% 41.9% $274

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$310 17.5%

Szeged

$251 20.5% 19.1% $59

Eating Out

Athens

$268 15.1%

Szeged

$156 12.8% 41.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$262 14.7%

Szeged

$169 13.7% 35.6% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$160 9%

Szeged

$159 13% 0.4% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Szeged

$64 5.2% 14.9% $11

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Szeged

$47 3.9% 5.2% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $523 in Szeged. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 1% 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 $57.0 in Szeged for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $251 per month, with Szeged cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇭🇺 Szeged

🕒 Local time

20:38 8:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

157,930

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, 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).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Athens Szeged 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Szeged

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 Szeged: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Szeged wins on cost – living expenses run 45% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Szeged the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1% 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 $523 in Szeged. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Szeged – a meal for two runs $57.0 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,775 per month in Athens versus $1,227 in Szeged – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,227 in Szeged versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Szeged but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Szeged the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Szeged delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,227 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Szeged hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Szeged 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 Szeged gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.