Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,771 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Kirkwall versus $1,771 in Athens.

Kirkwall $2,121
Athens $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,026 in Kirkwall versus $2,736 in Athens.

Kirkwall $3,026
Athens $2,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Kirkwall versus $3,701 in Athens.

Kirkwall $3,931
Athens $3,701

Living in Kirkwall is roughly 20% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kirkwall 57% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$16.83 €14.97

40.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$68.2 €60.7

38.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$11.43 €10.17

-7.52%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$4.06 €3.61

-3.45%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$2.74 €2.44

18.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$0.53 €0.47

147.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$5.69 €5.06

8.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$5.68 €5.06

49.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.85 €1.64

-57.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.44 €1.28

9.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.82 €2.51

-27.30%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$4.86 €4.32

-33.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$15.27 €13.58

-56.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$10.36 €9.21

-13.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$19.10 €16.99

-16.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.22 €1.98

-0.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.92 €1.71

2.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.41 €1.25

11.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.04 €1.82

-35.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.05 €0.93

5.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.17 €1.04

-6.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.08 €0.96

-28.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$0.84 €0.75

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$5.49 €4.89

266.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$10.17 €9.05

-9.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$2.13 €1.90

27.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.28 €2.03

26.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$1.37 €1.22

667.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$29.71 €26.43

260.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$4.39 €3.90

18.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$1.00 €0.89

158.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$16.63 €14.79

62.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.38 €2.11

-13.87%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$28.4K €25.3K

33.26%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$27.2K €24.2K

51.20%

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

$282 £212

$203 €181

38.86%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$26.79 €23.83

12.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$30.16 €26.82

9.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$53.7 €47.74

-22.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$10.59 €9.42

8.22%

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

$1,237 £928

$566 €504

118.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K €11.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$89.1 €79.3

2.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$40.48 €36.01

8.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$104 €92.3

-8.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$124 €111

10.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$729 €648

28.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$647 €576

22.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$1,328 €1,181

-10.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,169 €1,040

-17.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,024 €3,579

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,483 €3,098

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$1,240 €1,103

54.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

4.48

13.17%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Athens

$647 36.5% 18.2% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Athens

$260 14.7% 24.7% $85

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Athens

$271 15.3% 19% $63

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Athens

$312 17.6% 23.9% $60

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Athens

$45 2.5% 73.4% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Athens

$161 9.1% 2.8% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Athens

$75 4.2% 15.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $935 in Kirkwall and $729 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 54% 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: $95.0 in Kirkwall vs $68.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $312, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

19:32 7:32 PM

21:32 9:32 PM

2 h ahead of Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kirkwall Athens 3,010 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
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

Kirkwall vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Kirkwall. 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 54% higher in Kirkwall, 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: $935 in Kirkwall versus $729 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 $68.0 versus $95.0 in Kirkwall. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,121 per month in Kirkwall versus $1,771 in Athens – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,771 in Athens versus $2,121 in Kirkwall, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Kirkwall. 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 $1,771 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kirkwall 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 20% less than in Kirkwall. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.