Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Gallen and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,806 a month against $3,632 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

178

Cost of Living Index in St. Gallen
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St. Gallen Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,632

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,632 in St. Gallen versus $1,806 in Athens.

St. Gallen $3,632
Athens $1,806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,284 in St. Gallen versus $2,731 in Athens.

St. Gallen $5,284
Athens $2,731

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,937 in St. Gallen versus $3,656 in Athens.

St. Gallen $6,937
Athens $3,656

Living in St. Gallen is roughly 101% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Gallen 171% above, Athens 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.41 CHF 24.41

$16.66 €14.87

76.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$145 CHF 121

$66.2 €59.1

119.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.82 CHF 14.79

$11.06 €9.87

61.12%

Cappuccino

$5.99 CHF 4.97

$4.14 €3.69

44.69%

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

$5.81 CHF 4.83

$2.80 €2.50

107.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 CHF 4.42

$0.57 €0.51

835.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.23 CHF 7.66

$5.64 €5.03

63.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 CHF 5.12

$5.46 €4.87

13.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CHF 1.85

$1.96 €1.75

13.78%

White Bread (500g)

$3.18 CHF 2.64

$1.41 €1.26

125.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 CHF 3.06

$2.83 €2.53

30.04%

Eggs

$7.68 CHF 6.37

$5.04 €4.50

52.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.41 CHF 21.09

$15.35 €13.70

65.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.97 CHF 24.05

$10.34 €9.23

180.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$38.85 CHF 32.25

$18.97 €16.93

104.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 CHF 2.62

$2.17 €1.93

45.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 CHF 1.33

$1.91 €1.70

-15.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$1.38 €1.23

67.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.01 CHF 4.99

$2.20 €1.96

173.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 CHF 1.41

$1.10 €0.98

54.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 CHF 1.80

$1.13 €1.00

91.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.16 CHF 1.79

$1.10 €0.99

96.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 CHF 0.98

$0.83 €0.74

42.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.65 CHF 8.84

$5.60 €4.99

90.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 CHF 9.39

$10.19 €9.09

11.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 CHF 1.81

$2.18 €1.95

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$2.45 €2.19

-5.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.17 CHF 3.46

$1.38 €1.23

202.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 CHF 106

$30.87 €27.55

315.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.64 CHF 5.51

$4.37 €3.90

51.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.79 CHF 3.98

$1.04 €0.93

360.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$77.3 CHF 64.2

$17.11 €15.27

351.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.84

$2.31 €2.07

-3.90%

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

$35.3K CHF 29.3K

$28.0K €25.0K

26.21%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.7K

$28.0K €25.0K

40.84%

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

$305 CHF 253

$210 €187

45.44%

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

$38.46 CHF 31.92

$26.70 €23.83

44.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.2 CHF 44.95

$30.13 €26.89

79.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.7 CHF 67.0

$54.6 €48.72

47.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

Cinema Ticket

$30.32 CHF 25.16

$10.78 €9.62

181.26%

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

$2,308 CHF 1,915

$575 €513

301.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.8K CHF 26.4K

$13.1K €11.7K

141.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 CHF 122

$93.2 €83.1

57.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.6 CHF 53.7

$40.68 €36.30

58.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$147 CHF 122

$104 €92.9

41.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$179 CHF 148

$128 €115

39.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,734 CHF 1,439

$756 €674

129.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,698 CHF 1,410

$652 €582

160.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,854 CHF 2,369

$1,294 €1,154

120.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,153 CHF 1,787

$1,163 €1,038

85.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.1K CHF 10.0K

$4,008 €3,577

201.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,070 CHF 7,528

$3,452 €3,081

162.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,528 CHF 5,418

$1,243 €1,110

425.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

4.48

-53.13%

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

Last update for St. Gallen: 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

St. Gallen

$1.7K 46%

Athens

$652 36.5% 61.6% $1K

Groceries & Markets

St. Gallen

$572 15.5%

Athens

$315 17.6% 45% $258

Eating Out

St. Gallen

$464 12.6%

Athens

$269 15% 42% $195

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Gallen

$398 10.8%

Athens

$267 14.9% 33% $131

Clothing & Footwear

St. Gallen

$242 6.6%

Athens

$165 9.2% 31.8% $77

Getting Around

St. Gallen

$176 4.8%

Athens

$46 2.6% 73.8% $130

Sport & Entertainment

St. Gallen

$141 3.8%

Athens

$76 4.3% 46.1% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,734 in St. Gallen and $756 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Gallen pays 425% 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: $145 in St. Gallen vs $66.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $572 vs $315 per month, with Athens cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

07:28 7:28 AM

08:28 8:28 AM

1 h ahead of St. Gallen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,213

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.2 USD

1 CHF = 1.07 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.931 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 EUR).

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

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Gallen Athens 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

St. Gallen
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

St. Gallen vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 101% lower than in St. Gallen. 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 425% higher in St. Gallen, 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: $1,734 in St. Gallen 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 $145 in St. Gallen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,632 per month in St. Gallen versus $1,806 in Athens – a 101% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,806 in Athens versus $3,632 in St. Gallen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in St. Gallen. 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, St. Gallen 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 101% less than in St. Gallen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.