Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandnes and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $2,639 in Sandnes, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Sandnes
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Sandnes Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Sandnes

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,639

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,639 in Sandnes versus $1,775 in Athens.

Sandnes $2,639
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,091 in Sandnes versus $2,721 in Athens.

Sandnes $4,091
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,543 in Sandnes versus $3,666 in Athens.

Sandnes $5,543
Athens $3,666

Living in Sandnes is roughly 49% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sandnes 95% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.33 NOK 238

$16.69 €14.84

51.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.9 NOK 893

$67.8 €60.3

39.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.41 NOK 145

$11.14 €9.91

38.33%

Cappuccino

$5.58 NOK 52.6

$4.03 €3.58

38.46%

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

$3.37 NOK 31.70

$2.77 €2.46

21.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 NOK 27.75

$0.55 €0.49

436.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.54 NOK 128

$5.74 €5.10

135.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.92 NOK 112

$5.45 €4.84

118.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 NOK 21.91

$1.82 €1.62

28.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.34 NOK 31.43

$1.38 €1.23

142.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 NOK 23.23

$2.80 €2.49

-11.79%

Eggs

$4.92 NOK 46.31

$4.83 €4.30

1.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 NOK 125

$15.05 €13.39

-11.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.84 NOK 149

$10.63 €9.45

49.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.72 NOK 299

$18.43 €16.39

72.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.45 NOK 32.44

$2.20 €1.96

56.82%

Banana (1kg)

$2.82 NOK 26.52

$1.90 €1.69

48.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 NOK 29.12

$1.37 €1.22

125.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.72 NOK 44.41

$2.10 €1.87

124.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.54 NOK 23.89

$1.08 €0.96

135.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 NOK 22.17

$1.12 €1.00

110.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.82 NOK 26.54

$1.12 €1.00

151.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 NOK 21.17

$0.88 €0.79

155.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.35 NOK 154

$5.48 €4.88

198.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.37 NOK 154

$10.13 €9.01

61.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 NOK 30.37

$2.13 €1.89

51.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 NOK 38.89

$2.25 €2.00

83.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.65 NOK 43.81

$1.36 €1.21

241.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.1 NOK 773

$29.89 €26.59

174.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.00 NOK 56.5

$4.45 €3.96

34.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 NOK 15.82

$1.02 €0.90

64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$47.92 NOK 451

$16.92 €15.05

183.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 NOK 20.81

$2.25 €2.00

-1.78%

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

$43.3K NOK 407.2K

$28.0K €24.9K

54.32%

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

$38.6K NOK 363.0K

$28.2K €25.1K

36.60%

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

$245 NOK 2,309

$205 €182

19.91%

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

$34.40 NOK 324

$26.65 €23.70

29.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$83.6 NOK 787

$30.38 €27.02

175.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.45 NOK 428

$54.5 €48.46

-16.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$52.2 NOK 491

$25.88 €23.02

101.55%

Cinema Ticket

$18.81 NOK 177

$10.42 €9.27

80.52%

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

$284 NOK 2,675

$569 €506

-50.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,372 NOK 88.2K

$12.6K €11.2K

-25.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$123 NOK 1,159

$88.7 €78.9

38.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.5 NOK 560

$40.46 €35.99

47.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 NOK 1,121

$105 €93.3

13.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$186 NOK 1,751

$121 €108

53.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,304 NOK 12.3K

$741 €659

75.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$947 NOK 8,916

$655 €582

44.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 NOK 18.5K

$1,300 €1,156

51.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,754 NOK 16.5K

$1,148 €1,021

52.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,896 NOK 64.9K

$4,014 €3,570

71.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,065 NOK 38.3K

$3,460 €3,078

17.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,612 NOK 34.0K

$1,242 €1,105

190.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

4.48

16.52%

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

Last update for Sandnes: October 11, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandnes

$947 35.9%

Athens

$655 36.9% 30.9% $293

Groceries & Markets

Sandnes

$478 18.1%

Athens

$310 17.5% 35.1% $168

Eating Out

Sandnes

$433 16.4%

Athens

$268 15.1% 38% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandnes

$363 13.8%

Athens

$262 14.7% 28% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Sandnes

$220 8.3%

Athens

$160 9% 27.1% $60

Getting Around

Sandnes

$115 4.4%

Athens

$45 2.5% 61% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Sandnes

$83 3.2%

Athens

$75 4.2% 9.3% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,304 in Sandnes and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandnes pays 191% 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 Sandnes vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $478 vs $310 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Sandnes

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

17:31 5:31 PM

18:31 6:31 PM

1 h ahead of Sandnes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,958

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sandnes Athens 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sandnes
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

Sandnes vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Sandnes. 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 191% higher in Sandnes, 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: $1,304 in Sandnes 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 $95.0 in Sandnes. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,639 per month in Sandnes versus $1,775 in Athens – a 49% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $2,639 in Sandnes, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Sandnes. 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, Sandnes 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 49% less than in Sandnes. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.