Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Szentendre

For one person, living is cheaper in Szentendre: $1,455 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Athens
🇬🇷 Greece
$1,775
/mo nomad
Szentendre
🇭🇺 Hungary
$1,455
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Szentendre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,775 in Athens versus $1,455 in Szentendre.

  • Athens $1,775
  • Szentendre $1,455

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $2,091 in Szentendre.

  • Athens $2,721
  • Szentendre $2,091

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,666 in Athens versus $2,726 in Szentendre.

  • Athens $3,666
  • Szentendre $2,726

Living in Athens is roughly 22% more expensive than in Szentendre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 31% above, Szentendre 8% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.69 €14.82
$12.75 Ft 4,109
30.90%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.8 €60.2
$55.7 Ft 18.0K
21.73%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.14 €9.89
$9.05 Ft 2,916
23.09%
Cappuccino
$4.03 €3.58
$2.67 Ft 860
50.94%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.77 €2.46
$1.90 Ft 612
45.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.55 €0.48
$1.15 Ft 369
-52.17%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.74 €5.09
$3.32 Ft 1,071
72.89%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.45 €4.84
$2.87 Ft 925
89.90%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.82 €1.62
$1.14 Ft 369
59.65%
White Bread (500g)
$1.38 €1.22
$1.44 Ft 463
-4.17%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.80 €2.49
$2.33 Ft 752
20.17%
Eggs
$4.83 €4.29
$3.36 Ft 1,083
43.75%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.05 €13.37
$11.26 Ft 3,628
33.66%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.63 €9.44
$6.07 Ft 1,958
75.12%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$18.43 €16.36
$13.74 Ft 4,428
34.13%
Apples (1kg)
$2.20 €1.95
$1.91 Ft 615
15.18%
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 €1.68
$2.11 Ft 680
-9.95%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.37 €1.22
$2.02 Ft 652
-32.18%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.10 €1.86
$3.80 Ft 1,226
-44.74%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 €0.96
$1.01 Ft 324
6.93%
Onion (1kg)
$1.12 €1.00
$0.98 Ft 317
14.29%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.12 €1.00
$1.55 Ft 501
-27.74%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.88 €0.79
$0.53 Ft 170
66.04%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.48 €4.87
$7.84 Ft 2,526
-30.10%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.13 €8.99
$5.97 Ft 1,924
69.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.13 €1.89
$1.27 Ft 409
67.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.25 €2.00
$1.63 Ft 525
38.04%
🚌 Getting Around
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.36 €1.21
$1.19 Ft 384
14.29%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$29.89 €26.55
$28.79 Ft 9,280
3.82%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.45 €3.95
$3.03 Ft 976
46.86%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.02 €0.90
$1.39 Ft 448
-26.62%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.92 €15.03
$18.38 Ft 5,924
-7.94%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.25 €1.99
$1.91 Ft 617
17.80%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.0K €24.9K
$28.9K Ft 9.3M
-3.02%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$28.2K €25.1K
$33.7K Ft 10.9M
-16.28%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$205 €182
$153 Ft 49.4K
33.47%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.65 €23.67
$30.94 Ft 9,973
-13.87%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.38 €26.98
$23.11 Ft 7,448
31.46%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.5 €48.39
$45.59 Ft 14.7K
19.52%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.88 €22.98
$19.51 Ft 6,288
32.65%
Cinema Ticket
$10.42 €9.25
$7.78 Ft 2,507
33.93%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$569 €505
$493 Ft 159.0K
15.42%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.6K €11.2K
$16.3K Ft 5.3M
-22.96%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$88.7 €78.7
$89.6 Ft 28.9K
-1.04%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.46 €35.93
$27.81 Ft 8,965
45.49%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$105 €93.2
$99.0 Ft 31.9K
5.97%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$121 €108
$105 Ft 33.9K
15.47%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$741 €658
$613 Ft 197.6K
20.83%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$655 €581
$560 Ft 180.6K
16.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,300 €1,154
$770 Ft 248.1K
68.85%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,148 €1,019
$690 Ft 222.5K
66.27%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,014 €3,565
$3,102 Ft 999.9K
29.39%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,460 €3,073
$3,848 Ft 1.2M
-10.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Athens
Szentendre
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,242 €1,103
$1,545 Ft 498.0K
-19.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.48
6.45
-30.54%

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

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Last update for Szentendre: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Athens
$655
Szentendre
$560 14.4% $94
Groceries & Markets
Athens
$310
Szentendre
$242 21.9% $68
Eating Out
Athens
$268
Szentendre
$196 27% $72
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Athens
$262
Szentendre
$207 20.8% $54
Clothing & Footwear
Athens
$160
Szentendre
$145 9.5% $15
Sport & Entertainment
Athens
$75
Szentendre
$61 18.8% $14
Getting Around
Athens
$45
Szentendre
$44 3% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $741 in Athens and $613 in Szentendre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Szentendre pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Athens vs $56.0 in Szentendre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $242 per month, with Szentendre cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇬🇷 Athens
🇭🇺 Szentendre
🕒 Local time
20:41 8:41 PM
19:41 7:41 PM
1 h behind Athens
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,090,508 Capital
28,444
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 322 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 362 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.77 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Athens Szentendre 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Athens
  • Szentendre

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 Szentendre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Athens or Szentendre?
Szentendre wins on cost – living expenses run 22% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Szentendre the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Athens or in Szentendre?
On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Szentendre. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Athens compared to Szentendre?
Rent for a central apartment: $741 in Athens versus $613 in Szentendre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do dining costs compare in Athens and in Szentendre?
Dining out is cheaper in Szentendre – a meal for two runs $56.0 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How much does it cost to live in Athens compared to Szentendre?
All in, you'll spend $1,775 per month in Athens versus $1,455 in Szentendre – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Athens or in Szentendre?
At $1,455 in Szentendre versus $1,775 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Szentendre but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Szentendre the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Athens or Szentendre?
Both work as nomad bases, but Szentendre delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,455 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Szentendre hard to pass up.
How safe is Athens compared to Szentendre?
Safety-wise, Athens and Szentendre are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Szentendre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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