Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,072 a month against $1,775 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,072

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,072 in Benoni versus $1,775 in Athens.

Benoni $1,072
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,331 in Benoni versus $2,721 in Athens.

Benoni $1,331
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,589 in Benoni versus $3,666 in Athens.

Benoni $1,589
Athens $3,666

Living in Benoni costs roughly 40% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benoni is 21% below, Athens is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 R 168

$16.69 €14.84

-38.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.46 R 617

$67.8 €60.3

-44.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.86 R 96.5

$11.14 €9.91

-47.40%

Cappuccino

$2.22 R 36.61

$4.03 €3.58

-44.91%

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

$1.19 R 19.64

$2.77 €2.46

-57.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 14.00

$0.55 €0.49

54.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 R 38.33

$5.74 €5.10

-59.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 R 45.15

$5.45 €4.85

-49.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 R 20.16

$1.82 €1.62

-32.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 R 18.65

$1.38 €1.23

-18.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.33

$2.80 €2.49

-38.57%

Eggs

$2.46 R 40.48

$4.83 €4.30

-49.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 R 137

$15.05 €13.39

-44.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.86 R 80.1

$10.63 €9.45

-54.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 117

$18.43 €16.39

-61.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.55

$2.20 €1.96

-21.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.81

$1.90 €1.69

-14.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.58

$1.37 €1.22

31.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.70

$2.10 €1.87

-25.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.39

$1.08 €0.96

3.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.10

$1.12 €1.00

8.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.29

$1.12 €1.00

9.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.97

$0.88 €0.79

44.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 R 55.5

$5.48 €4.88

-38.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 R 83.8

$10.13 €9.01

-49.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 24.94

$2.13 €1.89

-29.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 R 32.14

$2.25 €2.00

-13.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.36 €1.21

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.72

$4.45 €3.96

-93.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R 14.67

$1.02 €0.90

-12.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.73 R 243

$16.92 €15.05

-12.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.41

$2.25 €2.00

-31.56%

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

$35.1K R 578.8K

$28.0K €24.9K

25.32%

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

$32.5K R 534.9K

$28.2K €25.1K

15.02%

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

$203 R 3,342

$205 €182

-0.85%

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

$38.42 R 633

$26.65 €23.71

44.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.63 R 604

$30.38 €27.02

20.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.06 R 297

$54.5 €48.47

-66.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.88 €23.02

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 R 117

$10.42 €9.27

-31.86%

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

$246 R 4,051

$569 €506

-56.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,577 R 91.9K

$12.6K €11.2K

-55.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 R 882

$88.7 €78.9

-39.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.40 R 534

$40.46 €35.99

-19.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 R 1,515

$105 €93.3

-12.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 R 1,397

$121 €108

-30.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$398 R 6,557

$741 €659

-46.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$296 R 4,881

$655 €582

-54.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$487 R 8,029

$1,300 €1,156

-62.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 €1,021

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,460 €3,078

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,041 R 33.6K

$1,242 €1,105

64.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

4.48

143.53%

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

Last update for Benoni: October 11, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$296 27.6%

Athens

$655 36.9% 121% $358

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$278 25.9%

Athens

$262 14.7% 5.9% $16

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$192 17.9%

Athens

$310 17.5% 61.8% $119

Eating Out

Benoni

$151 14.1%

Athens

$268 15.1% 77.4% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$118 11%

Athens

$160 9% 35.3% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Athens

$75 4.2% 133% $43

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.7 * 0.4%

Athens

$45 2.5% 847% $40

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 $398 in Benoni and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 64% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Benoni vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $310 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

10:04 10:04 AM

1 h ahead of Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Benoni Athens 7,150 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

Benoni vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Benoni wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Benoni the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 64% higher in Benoni, 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: $398 in Benoni versus $741 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $246 in Benoni versus $569 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Benoni – 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 $1,072 in Benoni versus $1,775 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benoni but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Benoni the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Benoni delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,072 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Benoni hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Benoni 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 Benoni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.