Cost of Living in Athens, Greece

Digital Nomad

October 13, 2021

Greece is an amazing place to live.

The low cost of living in Athens (coupled with incredible weather, history, and culture) makes the Greek capital a popular spot for both expats and digital nomads. Though it might not be as cheap as Thailand or Bali, Greece is still very affordable compared to other European cities.

In this guide to the cost of living in Athens, we’ll break down exactly how much you can expect to pay for housing, eating out, travel, and more. Keep reading or watch the video below!

P.S. Curious how the cost of living in Athens stacks up to other digital nomad hotspots? Check out our comparison guides for Thailand and Vietnam:

Cost of Living in Athens: Budget Overview

Like most digital nomad destinations, the cost of living in Athens can be as affordable or as expensive as you make it. Apartments range from basic to luxury, and dining out can range from $5 meals at a cheap taverna to $50+ at a fine-dining restaurant.

We chose to spend more on eating out, entertainment and travel, but you could easily cut back on all of those categories. Here’s what we ended up spending (per person):

Let’s break down each of the expense categories to give you a better idea of the cost of living in Athens.

Cost of Living in Athens: Accommodation

$850 USD/month (per person)

The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Athens is between €600-800 ($700-900 USD). Prices vary based on the area you choose to stay in, and what time of year you visit. Housing prices can skyrocket during the summer tourist season! (NOTE: Our apartment was extremely overpriced because we went through Airbnb and only rented for a month.)

Staying outside the main tourist areas of Plaka and Psyri is one way you can save money on rent. Another way to cut back on your housing budget is to sign a long-term lease, rather than renting from travel sites like Airbnb, which tend to be more expensive.

We lived in an area called Koukaki, which was just south of the city center and the Acropolis. For more details on the best neighborhoods in Athens and how to find housing, check out our in-depth Athens Digital Nomad Guide!

Cost of Living in Athens: Phone and Internet

$35 USD/month

If you read our Athens Digital Nomad Guide, then you already know the wifi in Greece is not the best. Make sure to factor a portable hotspot or coworking membership into your Athens cost of living!

We were able to work at home and take Zoom calls at home, but the wifi went in and out and we did sometimes have to switch to our hot spot, so it’s not impossible but definitely not ideal.

If your phone is unlocked, you can purchase a local SIM card in Greece. We paid around $35 USD/month for unlimited data with Vodafone. Cosmote is another popular choice for digital nomads and expats.

Cost of Living in Athens: Coworking

$84 USD/month

There are lots of great coworking spaces in Athens (check out this post for recommendations!). I didn’t end up purchasing a monthly membership, but instead used day passes at Selina coworking. On other days, we just set up shop at a local cafe and worked from there.

You can see more of our daily life in Athens in this video!

Cost of Living in Athens: Food

Eating Out

$520 USD/month

Eating out was one of our biggest expense categories, but thankfully restaurants in Athens are pretty affordable! We personally love eating at restaurants and trying the local food, but if you prefer cooking at home that can be a great way to save money.

An average meal in Athens costs about €5-10. Local lunch spots are even cheaper, where you can try incredible gyros or Greek salad for just €2-5.

Aside from eating out at restaurants, we also chose to order in through an app called Wolt, which is essentially like Uber Eats in that they deliver the food to you. Meals ordered on Wolt typically range from €8-15.

Groceries

$134 USD/month

Since we eat out most meals, our grocery budget was low. We mostly bought breakfast food, snacks, and household supplies.

The local markets in Athens are amazing, with fresh produce, honey, olives, and cheese, all available at super cheap prices. Shopping at the market instead of a chain grocery store will help you cut back on expenses and support the local economy!

Coffee

$59 USD/month

We made coffee its own category for our cost of living in Athens, because we typically purchase 1-2 coffees a day! Luckily coffee in Greece is super affordable. The price ranges from around €1.50-4.00, depending on if you’re in a tourist area or a more local neighborhood. In our experience, the price was normally on the low end of that range.

Cost of Living in Athens: Transportation

$60 USD/month

Our transportation costs were a little bit high because we paid extra for things like a taxi to the airport (about $20 a person). In general, though, Athens is a pretty walkable city. The only “con” is it’s also a large city, so walking from our neighborhood to the coworking space on the other side of town took about 30 minutes.

If you’re going somewhere further afield or just prefer not to walk in the scorching heat, Ubers are readily available and there is a metro as well. A trip anywhere in the city with Uber will cost around €4-7.

Cost of Living in Athens: Gym Membership

$6 USD/class

Interestingly, none of the gyms we looked at in Athens offered monthly memberships. The standard cost was around €5 per class or session. This could be a great option if you’re looking to save money, because you only pay for the gym when you actually use it!

Cost of Living in Athens: Entertainment and Extras

$300 USD/month

Travel & Sightseeing

There is so much to see and do in Athens! For us, we visited the Acropolis, a few museums and took a ferry to some nearby islands. We ended up spending around $300 USD/month per person on these activities (not including a weekend trip to Santorini).

These costs aren’t included in our final Athens cost of living estimate, because travel costs vary so much from person to person. You might choose to only visit free local attractions, or travel to a different Greek island every weekend.

Alcohol

We didn’t include alcohol as a category because we don’t drink very often. But to give you an idea of costs, a glass of wine is about €4-6 (beer is even cheaper) and cocktails start at around €5-15.

Visas & Insurance

The cost of our visas also isn’t included in the final budget breakdown, because the price will vary based on your citizenship and how long you plan on staying in Greece. Check out this site for details.

As Americans, at the time of writing this, we were able to stay 90 days in Greece without a visa, but note that Greece is in the Schengen Zone so you have to plan out your time wisely if you are continuing to travel in Europe.

You’ll also want to make sure you have insurance before traveling to Greece (or anywhere for that matter!). I use and recommend Safety Wing.

Cost of Living in Athens: Grand Total

Our grand total for the cost of living in Athens comes to $1748 USD/month per person. As a couple living here, it was about $3500 USD.

If you live frugally, your cost of living in Athens could be much lower. Cooking your own food instead of eating out, renting long term, and walking instead of taking taxis are all great ways to save money.

You might also choose to cut out an entire category like coffee or alcohol (you’ll notice we drank coffee every day but didn’t spend any money on drinks!) Check out this post for help calculating your budget.

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