Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Side and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Side: $1,173 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Side
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Side Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Side

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,173

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,173 in Side versus $1,779 in Athens.

Side $1,173
Athens $1,779

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,882 in Side versus $2,721 in Athens.

Side $1,882
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,591 in Side versus $3,663 in Athens.

Side $2,591
Athens $3,663

Living in Side costs roughly 34% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Side is 13% below, Athens is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.39 ₺470

$16.83 €14.99

-44.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.6 ₺3,180

$66.0 €58.8

-3.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.71 ₺486

$11.21 €9.99

-13.38%

Cappuccino

$3.60 ₺180

$4.08 €3.64

-11.76%

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

$2.22 ₺111

$2.77 €2.47

-19.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ₺18.35

$0.54 €0.48

-31.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ₺203

$5.70 €5.08

-28.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 ₺299

$6.26 €5.58

-4.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 ₺50.2

$1.84 €1.64

-45.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 ₺49.61

$1.43 €1.27

-30.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 ₺130

$2.67 €2.38

-3.00%

Eggs

$2.24 ₺112

$4.95 €4.41

-54.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.23 ₺712

$15.09 €13.45

-5.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.07 ₺304

$10.99 €9.79

-44.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.41 ₺1,372

$19.77 €17.61

38.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 ₺81.2

$2.12 €1.89

-23.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ₺122

$1.98 €1.76

22.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 ₺71.8

$1.33 €1.19

7.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 ₺70.9

$2.16 €1.92

-34.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 ₺40.50

$1.06 €0.94

-23.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 ₺39.17

$1.15 €1.02

-32.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 ₺83.3

$1.08 €0.97

53.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₺37.68

$0.85 €0.75

-11.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.72 ₺136

$5.46 €4.86

-50.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.80 ₺740

$10.03 €8.93

47.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 ₺83.4

$2.04 €1.82

-18.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 ₺154

$2.38 €2.12

29.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ₺31.48

$1.35 €1.20

-53.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.19

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₺64.6

$3.81 €3.39

-66.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ₺51.2

$1.03 €0.92

-0.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.61 ₺281

$16.49 €14.68

-65.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 ₺79.9

$2.34 €2.09

-31.62%

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

$49.1K ₺2.5M

$27.8K €24.7K

76.70%

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

$43.4K ₺2.2M

$26.6K €23.7K

63.09%

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

$77.7 ₺3,889

$202 €180

-61.57%

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

$10.41 ₺521

$26.81 €23.88

-61.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.82 ₺1,192

$30.49 €27.16

-21.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.3 ₺2,668

$54.1 €48.17

-1.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.41

Cinema Ticket

$7.69 ₺385

$10.44 €9.30

-26.34%

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

$504 ₺25.2K

$568 €506

-11.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K ₺611.7K

$15.2K €13.5K

-19.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.71 ₺2,337

$90.7 €80.8

-48.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 ₺2,817

$39.32 €35.03

43.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$155 ₺7,760

$105 €93.7

47.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 ₺5,881

$129 €115

-8.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$483 ₺24.2K

$742 €661

-34.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$331 ₺16.6K

$648 €578

-48.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ₺38.2K

$1,271 €1,132

-40.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 ₺28.1K

$1,122 €999

-49.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,427 ₺71.4K

$3,999 €3,562

-64.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,000 ₺50.0K

$3,281 €2,923

-69.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 €1,109

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

38.25

4.44

761.49%

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

Last update for Side: October 31, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Side

$331 28.2%

Athens

$648 36.4% 96% $318

Groceries & Markets

Side

$294 25%

Athens

$316 17.8% 7.6% $22

Eating Out

Side

$190 16.2%

Athens

$272 15.3% 42.9% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Side

$169 14.4%

Athens

$164 9.2% 3% $5.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Side

$112 9.5%

Athens

$260 14.6% 132% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Side

$69 5.9%

Athens

$75 4.2% 9.1% $6.3

Getting Around

Side

$8.9 * 0.8%

Athens

$45 2.5% 403% $36

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 $483 in Side and $742 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $64 in Side vs $66 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $316 per month, with Side cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Side

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

1 h behind Side

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,500

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.23 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Side Athens 690 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Side
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

Side vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Side wins on cost – living expenses run 34% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Side the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,760 in Side and $2,669 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $483 in Side versus $742 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $504 in Side versus $568 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Side – a meal for two runs $64 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,173 in Side versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Side but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Side the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.