Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ostia and Athens

For one person, living costs are similar in Ostia and in Athens: $1,756 and $1,775 a month, rent and utilities included.

85

Cost of Living Index in Ostia
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Ostia Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Ostia

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,756

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,756 in Ostia versus $1,775 in Athens.

Ostia $1,756
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,594 in Ostia versus $2,721 in Athens.

Ostia $2,594
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,432 in Ostia versus $3,666 in Athens.

Ostia $3,432
Athens $3,666

Living in Ostia costs roughly 1% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ostia 30% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.51 €14.69

$16.69 €14.84

-1.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 €58.7

$67.8 €60.3

-2.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.10

$11.14 €9.91

1.97%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$4.03 €3.58

-44.17%

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

$2.33 €2.07

$2.77 €2.46

-15.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.06

$0.55 €0.49

118.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.46 €4.86

$5.74 €5.10

-4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.80 €4.27

$5.45 €4.85

-11.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 €1.48

$1.82 €1.62

-8.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.38 €1.23

56.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.00 €2.67

$2.80 €2.49

7.14%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.04

$4.83 €4.30

-6.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.92 €13.27

$15.05 €13.39

-0.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.49 €11.11

$10.63 €9.45

17.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.61 €17.44

$18.43 €16.39

6.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 €2.30

$2.20 €1.96

17.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$1.90 €1.69

8.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 €2.07

$1.37 €1.22

70.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.38 €2.11

$2.10 €1.87

13.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.08 €0.96

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 €1.42

$1.12 €1.00

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.12 €1.00

17.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 €0.46

$0.88 €0.79

-42.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.63 €5.90

$5.48 €4.88

20.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.42 €4.82

$10.13 €9.01

-46.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.39

$2.13 €1.89

-26.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 €2.22

$2.25 €2.00

11.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.36 €1.21

21.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.01 €34.70

$29.89 €26.59

30.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.42 €3.93

$4.45 €3.96

-0.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.02 €0.90

21.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.16 €20.60

$16.92 €15.05

36.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.25 €2.00

-4.44%

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

$35.3K €31.4K

$28.0K €24.9K

25.84%

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

$35.4K €31.5K

$28.2K €25.1K

25.44%

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

$197 €175

$205 €182

-3.90%

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

$9.61 €8.55

$26.65 €23.71

-63.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.13 €27.69

$30.38 €27.02

2.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.1 €49.93

$54.5 €48.47

3.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.20 €9.96

$25.88 €23.02

-56.72%

Cinema Ticket

$11.07 €9.85

$10.42 €9.27

6.24%

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

$449 €400

$569 €506

-21.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,805 €7,832

$12.6K €11.2K

-30.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 €64.2

$88.7 €78.9

-18.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.65 €32.60

$40.46 €35.99

-9.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 €75.2

$105 €93.3

-19.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

$121 €108

2.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$853 €759

$741 €659

15.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 €599

$655 €582

2.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,130 €1,005

$1,300 €1,156

-13.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$990 €881

$1,148 €1,021

-13.75%

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)

$1,992 €1,772

$1,242 €1,105

60.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

4.48

-21.88%

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

Last update for Ostia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ostia

$673 38.3%

Athens

$655 36.9% 2.7% $18

Groceries & Markets

Ostia

$324 18.4%

Athens

$310 17.5% 4.1% $13

Eating Out

Ostia

$244 13.9%

Athens

$268 15.1% 9.8% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ostia

$237 13.5%

Athens

$262 14.7% 10.2% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Ostia

$143 8.2%

Athens

$160 9% 11.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ostia

$78 4.5%

Athens

$75 4.2% 3.8% $3

Getting Around

Ostia

$56 3.2%

Athens

$45 2.5% 20.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $853 in Ostia and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ostia pays 60% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Ostia vs $68.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $310, with Athens cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Ostia

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

04:41 4:41 AM

05:41 5:41 AM

1 h ahead of Ostia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,400

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ostia Athens 1,060 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ostia
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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

Ostia vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ostia wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ostia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 60% higher in Ostia, 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: $853 in Ostia versus $741 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ostia – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,756 per month in Ostia versus $1,775 in Athens – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,756 in Ostia versus $1,775 in Athens, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Ostia but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Ostia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ostia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,756 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ostia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ostia 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 Ostia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.