Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Sebastian and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in San Sebastian outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

95

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,948

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,948 in San Sebastian versus $1,775 in Athens.

San Sebastian $1,948
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,889 in San Sebastian versus $2,721 in Athens.

San Sebastian $2,889
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,830 in San Sebastian versus $3,666 in Athens.

San Sebastian $3,830
Athens $3,666

Living in San Sebastian is roughly 10% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: San Sebastian 44% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.90

$16.69 €14.84

0.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 €53.9

$67.8 €60.3

-10.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 €9.41

$11.14 €9.91

-5.03%

Cappuccino

$2.08 €1.85

$4.03 €3.58

-48.39%

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

$2.87 €2.55

$2.77 €2.46

3.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$0.55 €0.49

194.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$5.74 €5.10

-40.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 €3.22

$5.45 €4.85

-33.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.82 €1.62

-37.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 €0.94

$1.38 €1.23

-23.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.80 €2.49

-37.50%

Eggs

$3.72 €3.31

$4.83 €4.30

-22.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.34 €19.87

$15.05 €13.39

48.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.17 €7.27

$10.63 €9.45

-23.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 €18.77

$18.43 €16.39

14.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$2.20 €1.96

14.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.90 €1.69

24.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 €2.97

$1.37 €1.22

143.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.10 €1.87

38.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.08 €0.96

90.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.12 €1.00

76.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.12 €1.00

5.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.54

$0.88 €0.79

-30.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$5.48 €4.88

10.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 €6.58

$10.13 €9.01

-27.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.13 €1.89

-49.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.63

$2.25 €2.00

-18.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.36 €1.21

55.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.85 €30.11

$29.89 €26.59

13.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 €5.85

$4.45 €3.96

47.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 €0.81

$1.02 €0.90

-10.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.70 €20.19

$16.92 €15.05

34.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$2.25 €2.00

-24.44%

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

$36.2K €32.2K

$28.0K €24.9K

29.11%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$28.2K €25.1K

1.69%

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

$136 €121

$205 €182

-33.34%

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

$20.40 €18.15

$26.65 €23.71

-23.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.36 €31.45

$30.38 €27.02

16.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.41 €37.73

$54.5 €48.47

-22.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 €17.75

$25.88 €23.02

-22.91%

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 €7.50

$10.42 €9.27

-19.00%

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

$453 €403

$569 €506

-20.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K €12.2K

$12.6K €11.2K

9.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$88.7 €78.9

-18.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.46 €27.99

$40.46 €35.99

-22.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.7 €66.5

$105 €93.3

-28.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$121 €108

10.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 €1,252

$741 €659

89.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 €849

$655 €582

45.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,239 €1,992

$1,300 €1,156

72.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 €1,354

$1,148 €1,021

32.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,603 €8,541

$4,014 €3,570

139.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,748 €4,223

$3,460 €3,078

37.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,027 €2,693

$1,242 €1,105

143.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.92

4.48

-34.82%

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

Last update for San Sebastian: October 12, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Sebastian

$954 49%

Athens

$655 36.9% 31.4% $300

Groceries & Markets

San Sebastian

$316 16.2%

Athens

$310 17.5% 1.6% $5.1

Eating Out

San Sebastian

$233 12%

Athens

$268 15.1% 15% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Sebastian

$192 9.9%

Athens

$262 14.7% 36.2% $69

Clothing & Footwear

San Sebastian

$141 7.2%

Athens

$160 9% 13.8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

San Sebastian

$59 3%

Athens

$75 4.2% 27.1% $16

Getting Around

San Sebastian

$53 2.7%

Athens

$45 2.5% 16% $8.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,407 in San Sebastian and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Sebastian pays 144% 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: $61.0 in San Sebastian vs $68.0 in Athens. Groceries flip the comparison at $316 vs $310, with Athens cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

17:10 5:10 PM

1 h ahead of San Sebastian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,743

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

San Sebastian Athens 2,240 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Sebastian
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

San Sebastian vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in San Sebastian. 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 144% higher in San Sebastian, 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: $1,407 in San Sebastian versus $741 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 $61.0 in San Sebastian. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,948 per month in San Sebastian versus $1,775 in Athens – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $1,948 in San Sebastian, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in San Sebastian. 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 $1,775 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, San Sebastian 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 10% less than in San Sebastian. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.