Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ragama and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Ragama: $503 a month against $1,771 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $15,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Ragama
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Ragama Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Ragama

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$503

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $503 in Ragama versus $1,771 in Athens.

Ragama $503
Athens $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $814 in Ragama versus $2,736 in Athens.

Ragama $814
Athens $2,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,125 in Ragama versus $3,701 in Athens.

Ragama $1,125
Athens $3,701

Living in Ragama costs roughly 72% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ragama is 63% below, Athens is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.73 LKR 1,237

$16.83 €14.97

-77.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.62 LKR 8,154

$68.2 €60.7

-63.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 LKR 2,528

$11.43 €10.17

-33.25%

Cappuccino

$2.50 LKR 828

$4.06 €3.61

-38.42%

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

$0.72 LKR 239

$2.74 €2.44

-73.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.7

$0.53 €0.47

-52.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 LKR 711

$5.69 €5.06

-62.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 LKR 990

$5.68 €5.06

-47.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 LKR 470

$1.85 €1.64

-23.24%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 LKR 155

$1.44 €1.28

-67.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.68 LKR 226

$2.82 €2.51

-75.89%

Eggs

$1.73 LKR 573

$4.86 €4.32

-64.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.87 LKR 4,593

$15.27 €13.58

-9.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.74 LKR 1,571

$10.36 €9.21

-54.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 LKR 2,428

$19.10 €16.99

-61.62%

Apples (1kg)

$6.69 LKR 2,217

$2.22 €1.98

201.35%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 268

$1.92 €1.71

-57.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.27 LKR 1,414

$1.41 €1.25

202.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 LKR 423

$2.04 €1.82

-37.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 LKR 341

$1.05 €0.93

-1.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 254

$1.17 €1.04

-34.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 LKR 296

$1.08 €0.96

-17.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 149

$0.84 €0.75

-46.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.11 LKR 3,350

$5.49 €4.89

84.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.09 LKR 4,336

$10.17 €9.05

28.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 LKR 653

$2.13 €1.90

-7.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 LKR 974

$2.28 €2.03

28.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.22

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.71 €26.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 LKR 123

$4.39 €3.90

-91.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 115

$1.00 €0.89

-65.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 LKR 308

$16.63 €14.79

-94.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 459

$2.38 €2.11

-42.02%

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

$44.6K LKR 14.8M

$28.4K €25.3K

56.92%

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

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

$27.2K €24.2K

47.19%

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

$59.5 LKR 19.7K

$203 €181

-70.74%

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

$4.28 LKR 1,416

$26.79 €23.83

-84.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.08 LKR 6,982

$30.16 €26.82

-30.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.7 €47.74

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.40 €23.48

Cinema Ticket

$4.45 LKR 1,474

$10.59 €9.42

-57.98%

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

$37.59 LKR 12.5K

$566 €504

-93.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,188 LKR 393.5K

$12.9K €11.4K

-90.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.21 LKR 6,030

$89.1 €79.3

-79.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.89 LKR 5,595

$40.48 €36.01

-58.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 LKR 26.4K

$104 €92.3

-23.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.92 LKR 13.9K

$124 €111

-66.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 €648

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 €576

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 €1,181

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

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)

$1,240 €1,103

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

4.48

183.26%

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

Last update for Ragama: October 20, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ragama

$233 46.4%

Athens

$312 17.6% 34% $79

Eating Out

Ragama

$103 20.6%

Athens

$271 15.3% 162% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ragama

$85 16.9%

Athens

$260 14.7% 207% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Ragama

$71 14%

Athens

$161 9.1% 128% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Ragama

$8.9 * 1.8%

Athens

$75 4.2% 741% $66

Getting Around

Ragama

$2.1 * 0.4%

Athens

$45 2.5% 2022% $42

Accommodation & Living

Ragama

- * 0%

Athens

$647 36.5%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $25.00 in Ragama vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $233 vs $312 per month, with Ragama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Ragama

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

04:07 4:07 AM

01:37 1:37 AM

2 h 30 min behind Ragama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to LKR in detail →

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Between locations

Ragama Athens 6,590 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Ragama vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ragama wins on cost – living expenses run 252% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ragama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $754 in Ragama and $2,657 in Athens to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $37.59 in Ragama versus $566 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ragama – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $68.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $503 in Ragama versus $1,771 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ragama but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Ragama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ragama delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $503 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ragama hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ragama 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 Ragama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 252% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.