City comparison
Cost of living in Bucharest vs Athens
One person needs about €1,095 a month in Bucharest and €1,236 in Athens, rent included — Bucharest is 13% 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 Bucharest on €3,000, you need
€3,386/ month net
13% more than today (+€386)
- Bucharest today
- Basket €1,095 · left over €1,905 (64%)
- Athens at the matched salary
- Basket €1,236 · left over €2,150 (63%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 138% over in Athens (adequate) vs 237% in Bucharest. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇷🇴 Bucharest
Europe's fastest internet and lowest utility bills, with a booming IT sector.
Monthly budget: €1,095
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 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 Bucharest or Athens?
On salary, Bucharest pays more for tech roles (€2,600 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,505 in Bucharest at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €650 in Bucharest against €700 in Athens. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Bucharest at 77 and Athens at 71 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.