Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Tema

For one person, living is cheaper in Tema: $738 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Tema
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Tema Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Tema

🇬🇭 Ghana

$738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Tema

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $738 in Tema.

Athens $1,806
Tema $738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $1,173 in Tema.

Athens $2,731
Tema $1,173

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $1,608 in Tema.

Athens $3,656
Tema $1,608

Living in Athens is roughly 145% more expensive than in Tema, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 35% above, Tema is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$7.03 GHS 82.6

136.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$27.88 GHS 328

137.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$5.05 GHS 59.3

-18.02%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$0.90 GHS 10.57

211.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$0.30 GHS 3.55

90.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$3.29 GHS 38.67

71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$2.61 GHS 30.66

109.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$3.16 GHS 37.18

-37.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.60 GHS 18.84

-11.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$2.07 GHS 24.34

36.71%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$2.30 GHS 27.06

119.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$4.38 GHS 51.4

250.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$3.17 GHS 37.21

226.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$3.38 GHS 39.73

461.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.61 GHS 30.71

-16.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.13 GHS 25.06

-10.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$2.21 GHS 26.01

-37.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$3.49 GHS 41.02

-36.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$3.40 GHS 39.98

-67.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$2.82 GHS 33.12

-59.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$0.45 GHS 5.25

144.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.67 GHS 7.86

23.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$1.26 GHS 14.86

344.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$8.54 GHS 100

19.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$2.10 GHS 24.63

3.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$2.96 GHS 34.79

-17.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.68 GHS 19.73

-17.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

$41.17 GHS 484

-25.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$2.10 GHS 24.73

108.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.41 GHS 4.83

153.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.19 GHS 13.98

94.12%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

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

$28.0K €25.0K

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

$210 €187

$78.2 GHS 919

168.29%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$15.22 GHS 179

75.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$82.5 GHS 970

-63.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$24.06 GHS 283

126.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$8.80 GHS 103

22.50%

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

$575 €513

$174 GHS 2,050

229.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$2,544 GHS 29.9K

415.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$13.07 GHS 154

612.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$15.40 GHS 181

164.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$42.37 GHS 498

145.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$32.20 GHS 378

298.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$126 GHS 1,485

497.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$71.3 GHS 838

815.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$426 GHS 5,008

203.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$209 GHS 2,456

456.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$9,909 GHS 116.4K

-59.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$5,903 GHS 69.4K

-41.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$419 GHS 4,921

196.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

-87.20%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Tema: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Tema

$71 9.6% 89.1% $581

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Tema

$216 28.9% 31.5% $99

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Tema

$143 * 19.2% 46.7% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Tema

$176 23.6% 34% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Tema

$46 6.2% 71.9% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Tema

$42 5.6% 45.3% $35

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Tema

$52 7% 13.3% $6.1

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 $756 in Athens and $126 in Tema. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 197% 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: $66.0 in Athens vs $28.00 in Tema for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $315 vs $216 per month, with Tema cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇬🇭 Tema

🕒 Local time

09:16 9:16 AM

06:16 6:16 AM

3 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

160,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 GHS = 8.51 USD

100 GHS = 7.59 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GHS, 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).

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 11.75 GHS (100 GHS = 8.51 USD). 1 EUR = 13.18 GHS (100 GHS = 7.59 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Tema 4,320 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Tema

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 Tema: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tema wins on cost – living expenses run 145% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tema the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 197% 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: $756 in Athens versus $126 in Tema. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Tema – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,806 per month in Athens versus $738 in Tema – a 145% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $738 in Tema versus $1,806 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tema but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Tema the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Tema delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $738 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tema hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Tema 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 Tema gentler on the wallet – expenses run 145% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.