Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thessaloniki and Novara

For one person, living is cheaper in Novara: $1,483 a month against $1,642 in Thessaloniki, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Thessaloniki
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Thessaloniki Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Novara
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Novara Living Index

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Thessaloniki

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,642

/mo nomad

Novara

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Thessaloniki and in Novara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Thessaloniki and in Novara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,642 in Thessaloniki versus $1,483 in Novara.

Thessaloniki $1,642
Novara $1,483

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,537 in Thessaloniki versus $2,293 in Novara.

Thessaloniki $2,537
Novara $2,293

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,431 in Thessaloniki versus $3,103 in Novara.

Thessaloniki $3,431
Novara $3,103

Living in Thessaloniki is roughly 11% more expensive than in Novara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Thessaloniki 21% above, Novara 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.79 €14.94

$16.78 €14.92

0.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$56.6 €50.3

19.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.04 €9.82

$10.25 €9.12

7.71%

Cappuccino

$4.24 €3.77

$1.74 €1.55

143.68%

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

$2.93 €2.61

$3.46 €3.08

-15.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$1.72 €1.53

-55.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.52 €4.91

$5.57 €4.96

-0.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 €6.02

$5.09 €4.52

33.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.39 €1.24

28.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.95 €1.74

-9.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.66 €3.26

$2.88 €2.56

27.08%

Eggs

$5.47 €4.86

$3.33 €2.96

64.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.97 €12.42

$11.40 €10.14

22.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.15 €9.91

$8.76 €7.79

27.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.27 €16.25

$13.22 €11.76

38.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.53 €2.25

0.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.65 €1.46

31.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 €1.84

$3.41 €3.04

-39.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.79 €2.48

$2.16 €1.92

29.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.94 €1.73

-35.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.14 €1.02

8.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.03 €0.91

49.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.75 €0.67

18.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.55 €4.94

$6.23 €5.55

-10.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 €8.85

$5.58 €4.96

78.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.84 €1.63

10.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 €2.92

$2.28 €2.03

43.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 €0.58

$1.69 €1.51

-61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.24 €16.22

$38.24 €34.01

-52.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 €3.81

$4.36 €3.87

-1.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.20 €1.06

-4.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.70 €14.85

$34.82 €30.97

-52.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 €2.08

$2.05 €1.82

14.15%

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

$28.0K €24.9K

$26.9K €23.9K

4.29%

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

$28.3K €25.2K

$33.4K €29.7K

-15.34%

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

$216 €192

$176 €157

22.30%

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

$22.97 €20.43

$10.41 €9.26

120.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.23 €26.89

$30.24 €26.90

-0.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 €46.84

$78.3 €69.6

-32.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.67 €14.83

$18.96 €16.86

-12.08%

Cinema Ticket

$10.86 €9.66

$11.39 €10.13

-4.65%

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

$476 €423

$517 €460

-7.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,901 €7,917

$9,907 €8,813

-10.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.9 €85.3

$124 €110

-22.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.38 €40.36

$34.03 €30.27

33.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 €111

$55.5 €49.40

125.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 €115

$139 €123

-6.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$635 €565

$644 €573

-1.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$484 €430

$438 €389

10.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,091 €971

$1,048 €932

4.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$846 €753

$784 €698

7.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,746 €3,332

$2,850 €2,535

31.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,829 €2,516

$1,873 €1,666

51.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 €1,020

$2,082 €1,852

-44.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.34

3.62

47.51%

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

Last update for Thessaloniki: October 18, 2026

Last update for Novara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Thessaloniki

$484 29.5%

Novara

$438 29.5% 9.5% $46

Groceries & Markets

Thessaloniki

$332 20.2%

Novara

$269 18.1% 19% $63

Eating Out

Thessaloniki

$274 16.7%

Novara

$245 16.5% 10.8% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thessaloniki

$269 16.4%

Novara

$217 14.6% 19.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Thessaloniki

$178 10.8%

Novara

$158 10.7% 11.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Thessaloniki

$74 4.5%

Novara

$101 6.8% 35.9% $27

Getting Around

Thessaloniki

$31 1.9%

Novara

$55 3.7% 79.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $635 in Thessaloniki and $644 in Novara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Novara pays 82% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Thessaloniki vs $57.0 in Novara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $269 per month, with Novara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Thessaloniki

🇮🇹 Novara

🕒 Local time

08:43 8:43 AM

07:43 7:43 AM

1 h behind Thessaloniki

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

790,824

100,910

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Thessaloniki Novara 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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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

Thessaloniki vs Novara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thessaloniki and Novara differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($1,642 vs $1,483 including rent). Novara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Novara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $635 in Thessaloniki versus $644 in Novara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Thessaloniki versus $517 in Novara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Thessaloniki. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,483 in Novara versus $1,642 in Thessaloniki, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Novara but tight or insufficient in Thessaloniki. The gap between the two cities makes Novara 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.

Safety-wise, Thessaloniki and Novara 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 Novara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Thessaloniki. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.