Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Van

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $1,759 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
Learn more

Athens Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Van
Learn more

Van Living Index

Jump to prices

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,759

/mo nomad

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Athens and in Van

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,759 in Athens versus $956 in Van.

Athens $1,759
Van $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,696 in Athens versus $1,536 in Van.

Athens $2,696
Van $1,536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,632 in Athens versus $2,116 in Van.

Athens $3,632
Van $2,116

Living in Athens is roughly 84% more expensive than in Van, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Athens is 29% above, Van is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.05 €15.31

$7.48 ₺373

127.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 €59.1

$34.59 ₺1,724

90.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.96 €9.84

$7.93 ₺395

38.21%

Cappuccino

$4.10 €3.69

$3.57 ₺178

14.85%

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

$2.83 €2.54

$1.14 ₺56.6

148.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 €0.53

$0.42 ₺21.18

40.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 €5.05

$3.33 ₺166

68.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.67 €5.09

$3.10 ₺154

82.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.70

$0.96 ₺47.68

97.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 €1.31

$1.00 ₺49.81

46.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 €2.43

$2.25 ₺112

20.44%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.53

$1.48 ₺73.9

240.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.08 €13.54

$8.99 ₺448

67.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.28 €9.23

$4.07 ₺203

152.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.40 €17.42

$22.62 ₺1,127

-14.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 €1.91

$1.82 ₺90.9

16.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.83 ₺91.1

4.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.09 ₺54.4

29.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.91

$1.15 ₺57.4

85.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 €0.94

$0.52 ₺25.74

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.02

$0.35 ₺17.45

222.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 €1.01

$0.74 ₺36.88

52.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$0.61 ₺30.54

32.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.52 €4.96

$2.16 ₺108

155.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.99 €8.97

$10.36 ₺516

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.83

$2.01 ₺100.0

1.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.05

$2.79 ₺139

-18.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 €1.18

$0.73 ₺36.60

79.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.67 €27.55

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.93

$1.30 ₺64.6

236.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$0.76 ₺37.86

35.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.05 €15.32

$7.21 ₺359

136.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.10

$1.28 ₺64.0

82.81%

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

$28.3K €25.4K

$42.2K ₺2.1M

-33.11%

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

$26.8K €24.0K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-31.20%

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

$200 €180

$79.9 ₺3,982

150.15%

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

$25.17 €22.61

$10.46 ₺522

140.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.65 €26.64

$13.39 ₺667

121.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.4 €45.31

$57.0 ₺2,842

-11.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.94 €23.30

Cinema Ticket

$10.52 €9.45

$6.49 ₺324

62.10%

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

$576 €518

$624 ₺31.1K

-7.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.6K

$11.4K ₺566.2K

13.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 €80.6

$45.86 ₺2,285

95.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.57 €35.55

$33.35 ₺1,662

18.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.7

$79.7 ₺3,970

32.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$88.8 ₺4,426

39.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$740 €665

$469 ₺23.4K

57.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$643 €577

$278 ₺13.9K

130.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 €1,172

$816 ₺40.7K

59.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,121 €1,007

$586 ₺29.2K

91.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,011 €3,603

$1,491 ₺74.3K

169.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,284 €2,950

$968 ₺48.2K

239.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,224 €1,099

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

41.33

-89.16%

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

Last update for Athens: October 25, 2026

Last update for Van: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$643 36.5%

Van

$278 29.1% 56.7% $364

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$312 17.7%

Van

$229 23.9% 26.7% $83

Eating Out

Athens

$272 15.4%

Van

$156 16.3% 42.7% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$255 14.5%

Van

$104 10.9% 59.3% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$161 9.2%

Van

$111 11.7% 30.9% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$71 4.1%

Van

$70 7.3% 2.1% $1.5

Getting Around

Athens

$45 2.6%

Van

$8 * 0.8% 82.3% $37

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 $740 in Athens and $469 in Van. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Athens vs $35 in Van for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $229 per month, with Van cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇹🇷 Van

🕒 Local time

15:48 3:48 PM

16:48 4:48 PM

1 h ahead of Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,141,015

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Athens Van 1,710 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
Van

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 Van: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Van wins on cost – living expenses run 46% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Van the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,639 in Athens and $1,434 in Van 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: $740 in Athens versus $469 in Van. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $576 in Athens versus $624 in Van. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Van – a meal for two runs $35 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.