Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Tembisa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,106 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
Learn more

Tembisa Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Tembisa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Athens versus $1,106 in Tembisa.

Athens $1,771
Tembisa $1,106

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,736 in Athens versus $1,692 in Tembisa.

Athens $2,736
Tembisa $1,692

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,701 in Athens versus $2,279 in Tembisa.

Athens $3,701
Tembisa $2,279

Living in Athens is roughly 60% more expensive than in Tembisa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Tembisa is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$9.55 R 157

76.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 €60.7

$40.71 R 671

67.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 €10.17

$5.67 R 93.5

101.59%

Cappuccino

$4.06 €3.61

$2.24 R 36.98

81.25%

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

$2.74 €2.44

$1.05 R 17.34

160.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$0.87 R 14.40

-39.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

$2.42 R 39.79

135.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

$2.78 R 45.74

104.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.21 R 19.90

52.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.13 R 18.68

27.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.75 R 28.88

61.14%

Eggs

$4.86 €4.32

$2.54 R 41.85

91.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 €13.58

$8.67 R 143

76.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.21

$5.08 R 83.7

103.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 €16.99

$7.38 R 122

158.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.79 R 29.57

24.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.68 R 27.65

14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.81 R 29.74

-22.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.67 R 27.52

22.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.53 R 25.22

-31.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.40 R 23.09

-16.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.24 R 20.48

-12.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$1.05 R 17.35

-20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.89

$3.61 R 59.5

52.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

$5.31 R 87.5

91.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.43 R 23.50

48.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.80 R 29.68

26.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.36 R 22.38

0.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.90

$0.68 R 11.20

545.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.98 R 16.21

2.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$11.10 R 183

49.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 €2.11

$1.54 R 25.38

54.55%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$32.4K R 534.0K

-12.37%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$31.7K R 521.5K

-14.02%

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

$203 €181

$148 R 2,438

37.47%

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

$26.79 €23.83

$31.88 R 525

-15.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 €26.82

$38.41 R 633

-21.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

$32.17 R 530

66.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

$9.83 R 162

168.57%

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 €9.42

$6.34 R 105

67.03%

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

$566 €504

$246 R 4,057

129.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

$6,091 R 100.3K

111.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 €79.3

$60.3 R 993

47.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 €36.01

$37.09 R 611

9.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.3

$101 R 1,665

2.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$82.4 R 1,358

50.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

$406 R 6,686

79.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

$365 R 6,008

77.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

$688 R 11.3K

93.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$673 R 11.1K

73.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

$942 R 15.5K

327.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

$694 R 11.4K

401.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,240 €1,103

$574 R 9,454

116.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

10.94

-59.05%

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

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Last update for Tembisa: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$647 36.5%

Tembisa

$365 33% 43.7% $283

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.6%

Tembisa

$195 17.6% 37.5% $117

Eating Out

Athens

$271 15.3%

Tembisa

$146 13.2% 46.2% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.7%

Tembisa

$218 19.7% 16.2% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.1%

Tembisa

$126 11.4% 21.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Tembisa

$45 4.1% 40.1% $30

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Tembisa

$11 * 1% 75.3% $34

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 $729 in Athens and $406 in Tembisa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 116% 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 $41.00 in Tembisa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $195 per month, with Tembisa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🕒 Local time

00:44 12:44 AM

23:44 11:44 PM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

463,109

💱 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 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 Tembisa 7,130 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Tembisa

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 Tembisa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tembisa wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tembisa the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 116% 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: $729 in Athens versus $406 in Tembisa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $566 in Athens versus $246 in Tembisa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tembisa – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,106 in Tembisa versus $1,771 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tembisa but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Tembisa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Tembisa delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,106 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tembisa hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Tembisa 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 Tembisa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.