Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surrey and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Athens: $1,775 a month against $3,046 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Surrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
Learn more

Surrey Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Athens
Learn more

Athens Living Index

Jump to prices

Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,046

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,046 in Surrey versus $1,775 in Athens.

Surrey $3,046
Athens $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,410 in Surrey versus $2,721 in Athens.

Surrey $4,410
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,774 in Surrey versus $3,666 in Athens.

Surrey $5,774
Athens $3,666

Living in Surrey is roughly 72% more expensive than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Surrey 126% above, Athens 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.47 £17.61

$16.69 €14.84

40.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.1 £44.34

$67.8 €60.3

-12.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.11 £6.83

$11.14 €9.91

-18.22%

Cappuccino

$4.77 £3.58

$4.03 €3.58

18.36%

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

$2.23 £1.67

$2.77 €2.46

-19.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 £1.08

$0.55 €0.49

161.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$5.74 €5.10

18.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.00 £4.50

$5.45 €4.85

10.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.82 €1.62

-31.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.38 €1.23

53.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$2.80 €2.49

-46.07%

Eggs

$4.18 £3.14

$4.83 €4.30

-13.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 £6.14

$15.05 €13.39

-45.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 £6.68

$10.63 €9.45

-16.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.11 £12.09

$18.43 €16.39

-12.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.34

$2.20 €1.96

42.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.90 €1.69

-22.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.37 €1.22

43.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.32 £2.49

$2.10 €1.87

58.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 £1.04

$1.08 €0.96

27.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.12 €1.00

63.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.12 €1.00

22.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 £0.90

$0.88 €0.79

36.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 £17.34

$5.48 €4.88

321.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 £8.09

$10.13 €9.01

6.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 £1.73

$2.13 €1.89

7.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.84

$2.25 €2.00

9.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.99 £2.99

$1.36 €1.21

193.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.89 €26.59

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.35 £4.02

$4.45 €3.96

20.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.90

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.92 €15.05

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.41

$2.25 €2.00

-16.44%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$28.0K €24.9K

37.76%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$28.2K €25.1K

41.38%

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

$260 £195

$205 €182

26.94%

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

$13.15 £9.87

$26.65 €23.71

-50.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.58 £25.94

$30.38 €27.02

13.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.6 £40.20

$54.5 €48.47

-1.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.26 £13.70

$25.88 €23.02

-29.44%

Cinema Ticket

$13.17 £9.88

$10.42 €9.27

26.39%

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

$2,125 £1,594

$569 €506

273.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.3K £22.0K

$12.6K €11.2K

132.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 £39.41

$88.7 €78.9

-40.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.35 £29.52

$40.46 €35.99

-2.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.8 £66.6

$105 €93.3

-15.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.6 £69.5

$121 €108

-23.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,925 £1,444

$741 €659

159.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,893 £1,420

$655 €582

189.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,350 £2,513

$1,300 €1,156

157.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,303 £2,478

$1,148 €1,021

187.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,014 €3,570

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,198 £5,400

$3,460 €3,078

108.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,519 £3,390

$1,242 €1,105

263.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

4.48

20.54%

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

Last update for Surrey: October 13, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surrey

$1.9K 62.2%

Athens

$655 36.9% 65.4% $1.2K

Eating Out

Surrey

$333 10.9%

Athens

$268 15.1% 19.5% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surrey

$307 10.1%

Athens

$262 14.7% 14.9% $46

Groceries & Markets

Surrey

$289 9.5%

Athens

$310 17.5% 7.6% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Surrey

$123 4%

Athens

$160 9% 30% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Surrey

$80 2.6%

Athens

$75 4.2% 5.8% $4.6

Getting Around

Surrey

$21 * 0.7%

Athens

$45 2.5% 111% $24

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 $1,925 in Surrey and $741 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surrey pays 264% 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: $59.0 in Surrey vs $68.0 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $310 per month, with Surrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Surrey

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

08:07 8:07 AM

2 h ahead of Surrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

585

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surrey Athens 2,390 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Surrey
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

Surrey vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Athens wins on cost – living expenses run 72% lower than in Surrey. 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 264% higher in Surrey, 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: $1,925 in Surrey versus $741 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,125 in Surrey versus $569 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Athens – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $59.0 in Surrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,775 in Athens versus $3,046 in Surrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Athens but tight or insufficient in Surrey. 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, Surrey 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 72% less than in Surrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.