City comparison
Cost of living in Berlin vs Athens
One person needs about €2,258 a month in Berlin and €1,236 in Athens, rent included — Athens is 45% 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 Athens the way you live in Berlin on €3,000, you need
€1,642/ month net
45% less than today (-€1,358)
- Berlin today
- Basket €2,258 · left over €742 (25%)
- Athens at the matched salary
- Basket €1,236 · left over €406 (25%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 138% over in Athens (adequate) vs 204% in Berlin. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇩🇪 Berlin
Highest tech salaries on this list, offset by heating bills and a brutal rental market.
Monthly budget: €2,258
Sources: Destatis + Eurostat, HICP & Mietspiegel (2025) · 377 community reports
🇬🇷 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
Should you move to Berlin or Athens?
On salary, Berlin pays more for tech roles (€4,600 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,342 in Berlin at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,500 in Berlin against €700 in Athens. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Berlin at 76 and Athens at 71 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.