Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Thika

For one person, living is cheaper in Thika: $516 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Thika
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Thika Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Thika

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Thika

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,779 in Athens versus $516 in Thika.

Athens $1,779
Thika $516

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,721 in Athens versus $880 in Thika.

Athens $2,721
Thika $880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,663 in Athens versus $1,245 in Thika.

Athens $3,663
Thika $1,245

Living in Athens is roughly 245% more expensive than in Thika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 32% above, Thika is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.99

$3.42 KES 444

392.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.8

$33.96 KES 4,409

94.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.21 €9.99

$6.26 KES 813

79.07%

Cappuccino

$4.08 €3.64

$1.93 KES 251

111.40%

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

$2.77 €2.47

$0.30 KES 38.65

823.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.63 KES 81.6

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

$1.96 KES 255

190.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

$2.15 KES 279

191.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 €1.64

$0.73 KES 95.2

152.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.44 KES 57.6

225.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.20 KES 155

122.50%

Eggs

$4.95 €4.41

$1.41 KES 183

251.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.09 €13.45

$10.96 KES 1,423

37.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.99 €9.79

$6.73 KES 873

63.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.77 €17.61

$3.94 KES 511

401.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.58 KES 206

34.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$0.61 KES 79.2

224.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 €1.19

$0.74 KES 96.6

79.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.15 KES 149

87.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 €0.94

$0.37 KES 47.83

186.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.45 KES 58.4

155.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.97

$0.69 KES 89.4

56.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 €0.75

$0.39 KES 50.8

117.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.46 €4.86

$2.79 KES 363

95.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

$5.72 KES 742

75.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.78 KES 231

14.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.97 KES 256

20.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 €1.20

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 €3.39

$1.52 KES 198

150.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$0.96 KES 125

7.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.49 €14.68

$2.93 KES 380

462.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.09

$1.41 KES 184

65.96%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$19.3K KES 2.5M

43.55%

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

$26.6K €23.7K

$21.5K KES 2.8M

23.90%

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

$202 €180

$34.90 KES 4,531

479.43%

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

$26.81 €23.88

$14.86 KES 1,930

80.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.49 €27.16

$34.82 KES 4,520

-12.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.17

$45.48 KES 5,905

18.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.30

$7.47 KES 970

39.76%

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

$568 €506

$54.0 KES 7,004

951.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.5K

$3,528 KES 458.1K

330.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.8

$28.24 KES 3,666

221.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.03

$29.33 KES 3,807

34.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$69.2 KES 8,989

51.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$19.51 KES 2,532

561.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$742 €661

$99.5 KES 12.9K

645.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$648 €578

$56.8 KES 7,379

1040.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 €1,132

$270 KES 35.0K

371.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,122 €999

$178 KES 23.1K

529.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,999 €3,562

$611 KES 79.3K

554.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,281 €2,923

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

14.71

-69.82%

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

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Last update for Thika: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$648 36.4%

Thika

$57 11% 91.2% $592

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$316 17.8%

Thika

$154 30% 51.2% $162

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.3%

Thika

$87 16.9% 67.9% $184

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.6%

Thika

$85 16.4% 67.4% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$164 9.2%

Thika

$66 12.8% 59.8% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Thika

$60 11.7% 19.4% $15

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Thika

$6.3 * 1.2% 85.9% $39

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 $100 in Thika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $34 in Thika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $155 per month, with Thika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇰🇪 Thika

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

03:43 3:43 AM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

83,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Thika 4,550 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Thika

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 Thika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thika wins on cost – living expenses run 71% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Thika the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,669 in Athens and $773 in Thika to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $742 in Athens versus $100 in Thika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $568 in Athens versus $54 in Thika. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Thika – a meal for two runs $34 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $516 in Thika versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Thika but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Thika 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.