City comparison
Cost of living in Athens vs Kraków
One person needs about €1,236 a month in Athens and €1,260 in Kraków, rent included — Athens is 2% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Kraków the way you live in Athens on €3,000, you need
€3,058/ month net
2% more than today (+€58)
- Athens today
- Basket €1,236 · left over €1,764 (59%)
- Kraków at the matched salary
- Basket €1,260 · left over €1,798 (59%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 222% over in Kraków (strong) vs 138% in Athens. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇬🇷 Athens
Cheapest euro-zone big city here, with the widest gap between local pay and expat pay.
Monthly budget: €1,236
Sources: ELSTAT + Eurostat, HICP & household budget survey (2025) · 164 community reports
🇵🇱 Kraków
Warsaw salaries in a smaller, cheaper, prettier city.
Monthly budget: €1,260
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Athens or Kraków?
On salary, Kraków pays more for tech roles (€2,800 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,540 in Kraków at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €700 in Athens against €780 in Kraków. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Athens at 71 and Kraków at 81 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.