Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $2,463 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,463

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,463 in Cardiff versus $1,806 in Athens.

Cardiff $2,463
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,467 in Cardiff versus $2,731 in Athens.

Cardiff $3,467
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,470 in Cardiff versus $3,656 in Athens.

Cardiff $4,470
Athens $3,656

Living in Cardiff is roughly 36% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cardiff 84% above, Athens 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.59 £14.80

$16.66 €14.87

17.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.6 £62.4

$66.2 €59.1

24.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.11

$11.06 €9.87

-2.98%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.47

$4.14 €3.69

11.11%

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

$2.98 £2.25

$2.80 €2.50

6.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.51

$0.57 €0.51

250.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 £5.88

$5.64 €5.03

38.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 £4.85

$5.46 €4.87

17.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.96 €1.75

-12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.41 €1.26

4.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$2.83 €2.53

-20.49%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.81

$5.04 €4.50

-26.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.18 £6.93

$15.35 €13.70

-40.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.75 £6.61

$10.34 €9.23

-15.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.29 £12.31

$18.97 €16.93

-14.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.12

$2.17 €1.93

29.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.91 €1.70

-19.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$1.38 €1.23

115.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 £2.76

$2.20 €1.96

65.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.43

$1.10 €0.98

72.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.13 €1.00

30.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.10 €0.99

0.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.83 €0.74

96.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.64

$5.60 €4.99

316.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$10.19 €9.09

9.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.35

$2.18 €1.95

42.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.52

$2.45 €2.19

35.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.50

$1.38 €1.23

139.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.6 £59.4

$30.87 €27.55

154.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 £3.45

$4.37 €3.90

4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.04 €0.93

67.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.83 £27.08

$17.11 €15.27

109.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.62

$2.31 €2.07

-7.36%

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

$37.8K £28.6K

$28.0K €25.0K

35.24%

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

$41.3K £31.2K

$28.0K €25.0K

47.26%

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

$343 £259

$210 €187

63.69%

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

$25.85 £19.54

$26.70 €23.83

-3.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.60 £32.95

$30.13 €26.89

44.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.02 £28.73

$54.6 €48.72

-30.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 £8.70

$26.03 €23.23

-55.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £8.05

$10.78 €9.62

-1.21%

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

$1,978 £1,495

$575 €513

244.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.8K £24.8K

$13.1K €11.7K

150.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.6

$93.2 €83.1

7.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 £35.75

$40.68 €36.30

16.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 £90.6

$104 €92.9

15.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 £75.0

$128 €115

-22.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 £875

$756 €674

53.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,097 £829

$652 €582

68.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,185 £1,651

$1,294 €1,154

68.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,514 £1,144

$1,163 €1,038

30.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,353 £4,045

$4,008 €3,577

33.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,479 £2,629

$3,452 €3,081

0.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,223 £2,435

$1,243 €1,110

159.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

4.48

14.06%

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

Last update for Cardiff: 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

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.6%

Athens

$652 36.5% 40.5% $445

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$413 16.8%

Athens

$267 14.9% 35.4% $146

Eating Out

Cardiff

$316 12.8%

Athens

$269 15% 14.9% $47

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$307 12.5%

Athens

$315 17.6% 2.6% $8.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$165 6.7%

Athens

$165 9.2% 0.1% $0.2

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Athens

$46 2.6% 56.3% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$59 2.4%

Athens

$76 4.3% 28.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,158 in Cardiff and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 159% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $66.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $307 vs $315, with Cardiff cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:25 6:25 AM

08:25 8:25 AM

2 h ahead of Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

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

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cardiff Athens 2,580 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

Cardiff vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Cardiff. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Athens the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 159% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,158 in Cardiff versus $756 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,463 per month in Cardiff versus $1,806 in Athens – a 36% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $2,463 in Cardiff, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 36% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.