Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Upington

For one person, living is cheaper in Upington: $1,133 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 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 Upington
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Upington Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Upington

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Upington

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Athens versus $1,133 in Upington.

Athens $1,771
Upington $1,133

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,736 in Athens versus $1,760 in Upington.

Athens $2,736
Upington $1,760

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,701 in Athens versus $2,388 in Upington.

Athens $3,701
Upington $2,388

Living in Athens is roughly 56% more expensive than in Upington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 31% above, Upington is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$12.40 R 204

35.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 €60.7

$37.12 R 612

83.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.43 €10.17

$5.69 R 93.7

100.88%

Cappuccino

$4.06 €3.61

$1.74 R 28.68

133.33%

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

$2.74 €2.44

$1.04 R 17.17

163.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 €0.47

$0.76 R 12.58

-30.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.69 €5.06

$1.73 R 28.48

228.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.06

$2.82 R 46.42

101.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$0.89 R 14.65

107.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.25 R 20.66

15.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.51

$1.65 R 27.26

70.91%

Eggs

$4.86 €4.32

$2.64 R 43.52

84.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.27 €13.58

$8.45 R 139

80.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.21

$5.12 R 84.3

102.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 €16.99

$7.27 R 120

162.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 €1.98

$2.04 R 33.55

8.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.71 R 28.20

12.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.78 R 29.35

-20.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.84 R 30.29

10.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.51 R 24.81

-30.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.58 R 25.95

-25.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 €0.96

$1.27 R 20.96

-14.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$1.02 R 16.78

-17.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.89

$2.76 R 45.51

98.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.17 €9.05

$3.73 R 61.4

172.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.28 R 21.09

66.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.75 R 28.88

30.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.74 R 28.72

-21.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.90

$0.55 R 9.03

698.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.96 R 15.86

4.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.63 €14.79

$10.66 R 176

56.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.38 €2.11

$1.50 R 24.69

58.67%

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

$28.4K €25.3K

$31.3K R 514.9K

-9.13%

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

$27.2K €24.2K

$34.0K R 560.5K

-19.99%

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

$203 €181

$146 R 2,404

39.41%

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

$26.79 €23.83

$37.98 R 626

-29.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.16 €26.82

$38.45 R 633

-21.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

$27.77 R 458

93.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

$12.05 R 198

119.09%

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 €9.42

$6.94 R 114

52.59%

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

$566 €504

$103 R 1,691

451.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

$5,463 R 90.0K

135.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.1 €79.3

$61.2 R 1,008

45.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 €36.01

$33.44 R 551

21.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.3

$116 R 1,916

-10.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$96.9 R 1,597

28.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

$394 R 6,494

84.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

$369 R 6,084

75.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

$616 R 10.2K

115.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$737 R 12.1K

58.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

$763 R 12.6K

427.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

$736 R 12.1K

372.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,240 €1,103

$776 R 12.8K

59.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.38

-60.63%

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

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Last update for Upington: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$647 36.5%

Upington

$369 32.6% 43% $278

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.6%

Upington

$190 16.8% 39% $122

Eating Out

Athens

$271 15.3%

Upington

$159 14% 41.4% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$260 14.7%

Upington

$222 19.6% 14.6% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.1%

Upington

$139 12.2% 13.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$75 4.2%

Upington

$42 3.7% 44.4% $33

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.5%

Upington

$12 * 1.1% 72.3% $32

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 $394 in Upington. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 60% 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 $37.00 in Upington for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $190 per month, with Upington cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇿🇦 Upington

🕒 Local time

04:27 4:27 AM

03:27 3:27 AM

1 h behind Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

74,834

💱 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 21, 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 Upington 7,390 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Upington

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 Upington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Upington wins on cost – living expenses run 56% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Upington the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 60% 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 $394 in Upington. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $566 in Athens versus $103 in Upington. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Upington – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,133 in Upington versus $1,771 in Athens, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Upington but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Upington the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Upington delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,133 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Upington hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Upington 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 Upington gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.