Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabul and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $488 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

Jump to prices

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$488

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $488 in Kabul versus $1,779 in Athens.

Kabul $488
Athens $1,779

Estimated couple costs with rent: $664 in Kabul versus $2,721 in Athens.

Kabul $664
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $839 in Kabul versus $3,663 in Athens.

Kabul $839
Athens $3,663

Living in Kabul costs roughly 73% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kabul is 64% below, Athens is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.83 ؋184

$16.83 €14.99

-83.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.79 ؋506

$66.0 €58.8

-88.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.59 ؋298

$11.21 €9.99

-59.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 ؋147

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ؋123

Cappuccino

$1.13 ؋73.2

$4.08 €3.64

-72.30%

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

$0.46 ؋29.77

$2.77 €2.47

-83.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ؋9.70

$0.54 €0.48

-72.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.70 €5.08

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.26 €5.58

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 ؋52.8

$1.84 €1.64

-55.98%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.31

$1.43 €1.27

-82.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 ؋121

$2.67 €2.38

-30.34%

Eggs

$1.57 ؋102

$4.95 €4.41

-68.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.39 ؋285

$15.09 €13.45

-70.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.89 ؋253

$10.99 €9.79

-64.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ؋436

$19.77 €17.61

-66.06%

Apples (1kg)

$0.69 ؋44.68

$2.12 €1.89

-67.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 ؋55.5

$1.98 €1.76

-57.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.96 ؋62.2

$1.33 €1.19

-27.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 ؋35.64

$2.16 €1.92

-74.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ؋42.18

$1.06 €0.94

-38.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ؋30.73

$1.15 €1.02

-59.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 ؋19.67

$1.08 €0.97

-72.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 ؋25.15

$0.85 €0.75

-54.12%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.87 ؋121

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ؋49.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋67.9

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.42 ؋157

$5.46 €4.86

-55.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.03 €8.93

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.82

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.12

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ؋8.65

$1.35 €1.20

-90.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.09 ؋525

$30.52 €27.19

-73.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 ؋136

$3.81 €3.39

-44.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 ؋29.22

$1.03 €0.92

-56.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 ؋171

$16.49 €14.68

-84.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ؋71.8

$2.34 €2.09

-52.56%

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

$8,558 ؋556.0K

$27.8K €24.7K

-69.18%

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

$34.0K ؋2.2M

$26.6K €23.7K

27.63%

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

$42.10 ؋2,735

$202 €180

-79.18%

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

$12.70 ؋825

$26.81 €23.88

-52.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$95.2 ؋6,187

$30.49 €27.16

212.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.29 ؋734

$54.1 €48.17

-79.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.11 ؋267

$27.40 €24.41

-85.00%

Cinema Ticket

$2.33 ؋151

$10.44 €9.30

-77.68%

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

$20.27 ؋1,317

$568 €506

-96.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,131 ؋138.5K

$15.2K €13.5K

-85.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.78 ؋700

$90.7 €80.8

-88.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.98 ؋1,038

$39.32 €35.03

-59.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.3 ؋3,725

$105 €93.7

-45.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.02 ؋1,626

$129 €115

-80.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$125 ؋8,133

$742 €661

-83.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$107 ؋6,934

$648 €578

-83.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$219 ؋14.2K

$1,271 €1,132

-82.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 ؋7,513

$1,122 €999

-89.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$678 ؋44.0K

$3,999 €3,562

-83.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$356 ؋23.1K

$3,281 €2,923

-89.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$344 ؋22.4K

$1,245 €1,109

-72.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

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

Last update for Kabul: November 1, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabul

$150 30.7%

Athens

$260 14.6% 73% $109

Accommodation & Living

Kabul

$107 21.9%

Athens

$648 36.4% 508% $542

Groceries & Markets

Kabul

$101 20.7%

Athens

$316 17.8% 213% $215

Eating Out

Kabul

$52 10.7%

Athens

$272 15.3% 419% $219

Clothing & Footwear

Kabul

$49 10.1%

Athens

$164 9.2% 234% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Kabul

$16 3.3%

Athens

$75 4.2% 370% $59

Getting Around

Kabul

$13 2.7%

Athens

$45 2.5% 246% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $125 in Kabul and $742 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 3.6 times 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: $8 in Kabul vs $66 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $316 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Kabul

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

23:30 11:30 PM

21:00 9:00 PM

2 h 30 min behind Kabul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,289,000 Capital

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan Afghani (؋)

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 64.97 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 73.01 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kabul Athens 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kabul
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

Kabul vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kabul wins on cost – living expenses run 73% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kabul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Kabul. 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: $125 in Kabul versus $742 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kabul – a meal for two runs $8 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $488 per month in Kabul versus $1,779 in Athens – Kabul is about 73% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $488 in Kabul versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kabul but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Kabul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.