Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Balzan and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $1,963 in Balzan, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Balzan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

94

Cost of Living Index in Balzan
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Balzan Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Balzan

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,963

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Balzan and in Athens

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Balzan and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,963 in Balzan versus $1,806 in Athens.

Balzan $1,963
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,917 in Balzan versus $2,731 in Athens.

Balzan $2,917
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,871 in Balzan versus $3,656 in Athens.

Balzan $3,871
Athens $3,656

Living in Balzan is roughly 9% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Balzan 46% above, Athens 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.07 €17.02

$16.66 €14.87

14.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.5 €81.7

$66.2 €59.1

38.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.43 €11.09

$11.06 €9.87

12.39%

Cappuccino

$3.22 €2.87

$4.14 €3.69

-22.22%

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

$2.02 €1.80

$2.80 €2.50

-27.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$0.57 €0.51

77.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.38 €3.02

$5.64 €5.03

-40.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 €2.24

$5.46 €4.87

-54.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.96 €1.75

-34.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 €0.89

$1.41 €1.26

-29.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.63 €3.24

$2.83 €2.53

28.27%

Eggs

$4.26 €3.81

$5.04 €4.50

-15.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.45 €9.33

$15.35 €13.70

-31.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.05 €8.08

$10.34 €9.23

-12.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.43 €11.09

$18.97 €16.93

-34.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.17 €1.93

23.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$1.91 €1.70

3.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.38 €1.23

30.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 €1.05

$2.20 €1.96

-46.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 €0.79

$1.10 €0.98

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.87 €0.77

$1.13 €1.00

-23.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.10 €0.99

-24.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 €0.91

$0.83 €0.74

22.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.23 €5.56

$5.60 €4.99

11.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.90 €5.27

$10.19 €9.09

-42.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$2.18 €1.95

-51.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.45 €2.19

-38.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.19 €2.84

$1.38 €1.23

131.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.30 €2.05

$4.37 €3.90

-47.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.04 €0.93

71.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.65 €29.14

$17.11 €15.27

90.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.31 €2.07

-35.06%

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

$28.7K €25.6K

$28.0K €25.0K

2.56%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$28.0K €25.0K

17.00%

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

$158 €141

$210 €187

-24.78%

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

$20.27 €18.09

$26.70 €23.83

-24.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.53 €26.36

$30.13 €26.89

-1.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.4 €55.7

$54.6 €48.72

14.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

Cinema Ticket

$11.75 €10.49

$10.78 €9.62

9.00%

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

$279 €249

$575 €513

-51.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K €11.1K

$13.1K €11.7K

-5.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.4 €68.2

$93.2 €83.1

-17.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.3 €56.4

$40.68 €36.30

55.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €101

$104 €92.9

8.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$128 €115

3.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 €1,044

$756 €674

54.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$949 €847

$652 €582

45.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,804 €1,610

$1,294 €1,154

39.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,504 €1,342

$1,163 €1,038

29.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,953 €3,527

$4,008 €3,577

-1.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,826 €2,522

$3,452 €3,081

-18.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,019 €909

$1,243 €1,110

-18.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

4.48

-9.60%

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

Last update for Balzan: October 3, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Balzan

$949 48.7%

Athens

$652 36.5% 31.3% $297

Eating Out

Balzan

$263 13.5%

Athens

$269 15% 2.4% $6.2

Groceries & Markets

Balzan

$247 12.7%

Athens

$315 17.6% 27.6% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Balzan

$208 10.7%

Athens

$267 14.9% 28.4% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Balzan

$174 8.9%

Athens

$165 9.2% 5.2% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Balzan

$86 4.4%

Athens

$76 4.3% 11.3% $9.7

Getting Around

Balzan

$24 * 1.2%

Athens

$46 2.6% 91.8% $22

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 $1,170 in Balzan and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $92.0 in Balzan vs $66.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $247 vs $315, with Balzan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Balzan

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:06 6:06 AM

07:06 7:06 AM

1 h ahead of Balzan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,700

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Balzan Athens 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Balzan
Athens

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

Balzan vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Balzan. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Athens. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,170 in Balzan versus $756 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $279 in Balzan versus $575 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $92.0 in Balzan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $1,963 in Balzan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Balzan. The gap between the two cities makes Athens the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Athens delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,806 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Balzan and Athens 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 Athens gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Balzan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.