Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Tartus

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartus: $635 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Tartus
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Tartus Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Tartus

🇸🇾 Syria

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Tartus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $635 in Tartus.

Athens $1,779
Tartus $635

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $988 in Tartus.

Athens $2,721
Tartus $988

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,340 in Tartus.

Athens $3,663
Tartus $1,340

Living in Athens is roughly 180% more expensive than in Tartus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Tartus is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$10.13 SYP 1,231

66.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$41.75 SYP 5,073

58.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.98

$6.80 SYP 827

64.85%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$3.79 SYP 461

7.65%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$2.22 SYP 269

24.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.83 SYP 101

-34.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.07

$1.94 SYP 236

193.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$4.09 SYP 497

53.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.44 SYP 53.9

318.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.44 SYP 53.9

225.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$0.74 SYP 90.3

260.81%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$0.81 SYP 98.8

511.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.44

$3.95 SYP 480

282.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$3.05 SYP 370

260.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.60

$13.97 SYP 1,698

41.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.04 SYP 126

103.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.37 SYP 166

44.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.15 SYP 140

15.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.22 SYP 26.66

881.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.22 SYP 26.73

381.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.29 SYP 35.83

296.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$0.43 SYP 52.7

151.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.61 SYP 74.7

39.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$2.65 SYP 322

106.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$4.93 SYP 599

103.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.15 SYP 140

77.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$2.86 SYP 347

-16.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.33 SYP 39.54

309.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.18

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$1.01 SYP 123

277.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.49 SYP 182

-30.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$7.85 SYP 954

110.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$3.67 SYP 446

-36.24%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

84.07%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$19.1K SYP 2.3M

39.11%

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

$202 €180

$139 SYP 16.9K

44.98%

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

$26.81 €23.87

$9.52 SYP 1,157

181.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.14

$20.33 SYP 2,470

49.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.14

$5.64 SYP 685

858.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.40

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$5.47 SYP 664

90.86%

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

$568 €505

$9.54 SYP 1,160

5848.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$1,756 SYP 213.4K

764.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$11.34 SYP 1,378

699.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.01

$40.40 SYP 4,910

-2.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$46.48 SYP 5,649

126.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$15.39 SYP 1,870

738.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$117 SYP 14.2K

535.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €577

$76.7 SYP 9,320

745.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$232 SYP 28.2K

447.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$113 SYP 13.8K

888.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,561

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,921

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

$49.39 SYP 6,002

2421.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

14.25

-68.84%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Tartus: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Tartus

$77 12.1% 88.2% $572

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Tartus

$135 21.2% 57.4% $181

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Tartus

$177 27.9% 34.8% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Tartus

$169 26.7% 34.8% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Tartus

$51 8.1% 68.8% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Tartus

$17 2.6% 77.9% $58

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Tartus

$9.8 * 1.5% 78.2% $35

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 $742 in Athens and $117 in Tartus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 25 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $42 in Tartus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $135 per month, with Tartus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇸🇾 Tartus

🕒 Local time

06:02 6:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

115,769

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.33 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Athens Tartus 1,140 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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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 Tartus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tartus wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Tartus the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Athens is about 25 times higher, 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: $742 in Athens versus $117 in Tartus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $568 in Athens versus $9.54 in Tartus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tartus – a meal for two runs $42 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $635 in Tartus versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tartus but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Tartus the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Tartus wins on affordability, Athens on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.