Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benghazi and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Benghazi: $412 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Benghazi
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Benghazi Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Benghazi

🇱🇾 Libya

$412

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Benghazi 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 Benghazi and in Athens actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $412 in Benghazi versus $1,806 in Athens.

Benghazi $412
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $695 in Benghazi versus $2,731 in Athens.

Benghazi $695
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $978 in Benghazi versus $3,656 in Athens.

Benghazi $978
Athens $3,656

Living in Benghazi costs roughly 77% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benghazi is 69% below, Athens is 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.36 LYD 15.08

$16.66 €14.87

-85.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.50 LYD 80.0

$66.2 €59.1

-81.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.30 LYD 14.70

$11.06 €9.87

-79.20%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 LYD 13.24

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 LYD 2.43

Cappuccino

$0.68 LYD 4.37

$4.14 €3.69

-83.57%

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

$0.43 LYD 2.74

$2.80 €2.50

-84.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 LYD 0.77

$0.57 €0.51

-78.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 LYD 5.22

$1.96 €1.75

-58.16%

White Bread (500g)

$0.19 LYD 1.22

$1.41 €1.26

-86.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 LYD 8.92

$2.83 €2.53

-50.88%

Eggs

$1.65 LYD 10.58

$5.04 €4.50

-67.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.56 LYD 41.97

$15.35 €13.70

-57.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.80 LYD 17.92

$10.34 €9.23

-72.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.17 LYD 71.5

$18.97 €16.93

-41.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 LYD 14.52

$2.17 €1.93

4.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 LYD 11.66

$1.91 €1.70

-4.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 LYD 7.70

$1.38 €1.23

-13.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.69 LYD 4.40

$2.20 €1.96

-68.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 LYD 5.45

$1.10 €0.98

-22.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 LYD 4.06

$1.13 €1.00

-44.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 LYD 2.23

$1.10 €0.99

-68.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.23 LYD 1.47

$0.83 €0.74

-72.29%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.35 LYD 15.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 LYD 3.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.93

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.84 LYD 11.77

$5.60 €4.99

-67.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 LYD 9.73

$4.37 €3.90

-65.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 LYD 1.89

$1.04 €0.93

-71.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.14

$2.31 €2.07

-99.13%

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

$12.4K LYD 79.4K

$28.0K €25.0K

-55.64%

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

$14.9K LYD 95.1K

$28.0K €25.0K

-46.95%

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

$210 €187

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

$4.44 LYD 28.44

$26.70 €23.83

-83.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.29 LYD 117

$30.13 €26.89

-39.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.54 LYD 112

$54.6 €48.72

-67.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.84 LYD 24.56

$26.03 €23.23

-85.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.06 LYD 38.75

$10.78 €9.62

-43.78%

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

$78.0 LYD 499

$575 €513

-86.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$347 LYD 2,221

$13.1K €11.7K

-97.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.51 LYD 272

$93.2 €83.1

-54.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.84 LYD 223

$40.68 €36.30

-14.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.28 LYD 271

$104 €92.9

-59.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.0 LYD 442

$128 €115

-46.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$186 LYD 1,191

$756 €674

-75.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 LYD 737

$652 €582

-82.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 LYD 2,776

$1,294 €1,154

-66.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 LYD 1,655

$1,163 €1,038

-77.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$265 LYD 1,699

$1,243 €1,110

-78.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

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

Last update for Benghazi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Benghazi

$128 30.5%

Athens

$315 17.6% 146% $187

Accommodation & Living

Benghazi

$115 27.5%

Athens

$652 36.5% 467% $537

Clothing & Footwear

Benghazi

$85 20.2%

Athens

$165 9.2% 94.1% $80

Eating Out

Benghazi

$36 8.6%

Athens

$269 15% 644% $233

Sport & Entertainment

Benghazi

$30 7.1%

Athens

$76 4.3% 157% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benghazi

$23 * 5.4%

Athens

$267 14.9% 1072% $244

Getting Around

Benghazi

$3 * 0.7%

Athens

$46 2.6% 1431% $43

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 $186 in Benghazi and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays 368% 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: $13.00 in Benghazi vs $66.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $128 vs $315 per month, with Benghazi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Benghazi

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

09:14 9:14 AM

1 h ahead of Benghazi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

631,555

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.4 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.18 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Benghazi Athens 730 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Benghazi
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

Benghazi vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Benghazi wins on cost – living expenses run 338% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Benghazi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 368% 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: $186 in Benghazi versus $756 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $78.0 in Benghazi 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 Benghazi – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $412 in Benghazi versus $1,806 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benghazi but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Benghazi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Benghazi delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $412 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Benghazi hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Benghazi 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 Benghazi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 338% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.