Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $2,681 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,681

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,681 in Southampton versus $1,806 in Athens.

Southampton $2,681
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,835 in Southampton versus $2,731 in Athens.

Southampton $3,835
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,989 in Southampton versus $3,656 in Athens.

Southampton $4,989
Athens $3,656

Living in Southampton is roughly 48% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Southampton 100% above, Athens 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.05 £19.68

$16.66 €14.87

56.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 £68.5

$66.2 €59.1

36.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.35 £8.57

$11.06 €9.87

2.62%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.89

$4.14 €3.69

24.15%

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

$2.97 £2.24

$2.80 €2.50

6.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.62

$0.57 €0.51

275.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.65

$5.64 €5.03

32.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.94

$5.46 €4.87

19.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.96 €1.75

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.41 €1.26

22.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$2.83 €2.53

5.30%

Eggs

$4.54 £3.43

$5.04 €4.50

-9.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 £7.47

$15.35 €13.70

-35.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.12

$10.34 €9.23

-8.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 £10.78

$18.97 €16.93

-24.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$2.17 €1.93

37.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.91 €1.70

-8.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.18

$1.38 €1.23

109.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$2.20 €1.96

61.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.10 €0.98

61.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.13 €1.00

33.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.94

$1.10 €0.99

12.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.32

$0.83 €0.74

109.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.37 £16.15

$5.60 €4.99

281.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.85 £8.20

$10.19 €9.09

6.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 £2.23

$2.18 €1.95

35.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 £2.62

$2.45 €2.19

41.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$1.38 €1.23

126.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 £65.1

$30.87 €27.55

179.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 £3.23

$4.37 €3.90

-2.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$1.04 €0.93

85.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.36 £23.70

$17.11 €15.27

83.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$2.31 €2.07

-9.52%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$28.0K €25.0K

34.82%

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

$40.2K £30.3K

$28.0K €25.0K

43.33%

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

$325 £245

$210 €187

54.85%

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

$29.44 £22.25

$26.70 €23.83

10.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.9 £40.75

$30.13 €26.89

78.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 £31.00

$54.6 €48.72

-24.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.46 £12.44

$26.03 €23.23

-36.77%

Cinema Ticket

$15.69 £11.85

$10.78 €9.62

45.55%

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

$1,560 £1,179

$575 €513

171.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K £13.4K

$13.1K €11.7K

35.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 £77.8

$93.2 €83.1

10.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 £38.49

$40.68 €36.30

25.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 £75.1

$104 €92.9

-4.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 £101

$128 €115

3.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,133

$756 €674

98.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 £901

$652 €582

82.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,397 £1,811

$1,294 €1,154

85.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 £1,405

$1,163 €1,038

59.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,870 £4,436

$4,008 €3,577

46.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,381 £4,066

$3,452 €3,081

55.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,333 £2,519

$1,243 €1,110

168.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

4.48

10.71%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 45%

Athens

$652 36.5% 45.3% $540

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$408 15.4%

Athens

$267 14.9% 34.7% $142

Eating Out

Southampton

$375 14.1%

Athens

$269 15% 28.3% $106

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$319 12%

Athens

$315 17.6% 1.3% $4.2

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$174 6.6%

Athens

$165 9.2% 5.2% $9.1

Getting Around

Southampton

$113 4.2%

Athens

$46 2.6% 59.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$72 2.7%

Athens

$76 4.3% 5.2% $3.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,500 in Southampton and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Southampton pays 168% 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: $91.0 in Southampton vs $66.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $319 vs $315 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

08:19 8:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

2 h ahead of Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Southampton Athens 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
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

Southampton vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Southampton. 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 168% higher in Southampton, 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: $1,500 in Southampton versus $756 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 $66.0 versus $91.0 in Southampton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,681 per month in Southampton versus $1,806 in Athens – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $2,681 in Southampton, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Southampton. 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 $1,806 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Athens hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Southampton 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 48% less than in Southampton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.