City comparison
Cost of living in Athens vs Mexico City
One person needs about €1,236 a month in Athens and €1,284 in Mexico City, rent included — Athens is 4% 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 Mexico City the way you live in Athens on €3,000, you need
€3,117/ month net
4% more than today (+€117)
- Athens today
- Basket €1,236 · left over €1,764 (59%)
- Mexico City at the matched salary
- Basket €1,284 · left over €1,833 (59%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Mexico City (adequate) 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
🇲🇽 Mexico City
Great food, US time zones, and rents rising quickly in Roma and Condesa.
Monthly budget: €1,284
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Athens or Mexico City?
On salary, Mexico City pays more for tech roles (€1,900 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €616 in Mexico City at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €700 in Athens against €850 in Mexico City. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Athens at 71 and Mexico City at 78 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.