Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monaco and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $10.4K in Monaco, rent and utilities included – about $103,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

506

Cost of Living Index in Monaco
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Monaco Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Monaco

🇲🇨 Monaco

$10.4K

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $10.4K in Monaco versus $1,806 in Athens.

Monaco $10.4K
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $11.9K in Monaco versus $2,731 in Athens.

Monaco $11.9K
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $13.5K in Monaco versus $3,656 in Athens.

Monaco $13.5K
Athens $3,656

Living in Monaco is roughly 477% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monaco 678% above, Athens 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.41 €17.32

$16.66 €14.87

16.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$168 €150

$66.2 €59.1

154.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.48 €11.14

$11.06 €9.87

12.84%

Cappuccino

$3.80 €3.39

$4.14 €3.69

-8.21%

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

$6.21 €5.55

$2.80 €2.50

121.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 €3.93

$0.57 €0.51

671.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.16 €9.07

$5.64 €5.03

80.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.87 €7.92

$5.46 €4.87

62.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.96 €1.75

-6.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.29 €2.94

$1.41 €1.26

133.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.18 €3.73

$2.83 €2.53

47.70%

Eggs

$4.79 €4.27

$5.04 €4.50

-4.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.80 €12.32

$15.35 €13.70

-10.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.97 €15.14

$10.34 €9.23

64.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.13 €16.18

$18.97 €16.93

-4.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.23 €2.89

$2.17 €1.93

48.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 €2.55

$1.91 €1.70

49.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.44

$1.38 €1.23

97.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 €3.18

$2.20 €1.96

62.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$1.10 €0.98

128.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 €2.55

$1.13 €1.00

152.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.10 €0.99

71.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$7.71 €6.88

$0.83 €0.74

828.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.06 €12.55

$5.60 €4.99

151.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.85 €6.11

$10.19 €9.09

-32.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.45

$2.18 €1.95

-25.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.07

$2.45 €2.19

86.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.38 €1.23

60.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.31 €20.80

$30.87 €27.55

-24.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.04 €0.93

49.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.2 €80.5

$17.11 €15.27

427.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 €2.05

$2.31 €2.07

-0.43%

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

$48.4K €43.2K

$28.0K €25.0K

72.96%

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

$39.8K €35.5K

$28.0K €25.0K

42.17%

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

$422 €376

$210 €187

101.04%

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

$42.56 €37.98

$26.70 €23.83

59.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.9 €57.0

$30.13 €26.89

112.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$223 €199

$54.6 €48.72

308.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.1 €48.31

$26.03 €23.23

107.95%

Cinema Ticket

$13.56 €12.10

$10.78 €9.62

25.79%

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

$2,176 €1,942

$575 €513

278.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$45.4K €40.5K

$13.1K €11.7K

246.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$151 €135

$93.2 €83.1

61.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$84.0 €74.9

$40.68 €36.30

106.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$169 €151

$104 €92.9

62.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$726 €648

$128 €115

466.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,011 €8,041

$756 €674

1092.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,111 €7,238

$652 €582

1143.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$16.4K €14.7K

$1,294 €1,154

1171.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,521 €7,605

$1,163 €1,038

632.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$71.4K €63.7K

$4,008 €3,577

1680.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$55.0K €49.1K

$3,452 €3,081

1493.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,805 €7,857

$1,243 €1,110

608.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.25

4.48

-27.46%

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

Last update for Monaco: October 5, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monaco

$8.1K 79%

Athens

$652 36.5% 92% $7.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monaco

$528 5.2%

Athens

$267 14.9% 49.5% $262

Clothing & Footwear

Monaco

$509 5%

Athens

$165 9.2% 67.6% $344

Groceries & Markets

Monaco

$474 4.6%

Athens

$315 17.6% 33.6% $159

Eating Out

Monaco

$349 3.4%

Athens

$269 15% 23% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Monaco

$250 2.4%

Athens

$76 4.3% 69.6% $174

Getting Around

Monaco

$40 * 0.4%

Athens

$46 2.6% 15.1% $6

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 $9,011 in Monaco and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaco pays 608% 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: $168 in Monaco vs $66.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $474 vs $315 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇨 Monaco

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

10:30 10:30 AM

1 h ahead of Monaco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,050 Capital

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monaco Athens 1,510 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Monaco
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

Monaco vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 477% lower than in Monaco. 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 608% higher in Monaco, 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: $9,011 in Monaco 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 $168 in Monaco. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $10.4K per month in Monaco versus $1,806 in Athens – a 477% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $10.4K in Monaco, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Monaco. 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, Monaco 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 477% less than in Monaco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.