City comparison
Cost of living in Vienna vs Athens
One person needs about €1,856 a month in Vienna and €1,236 in Athens, rent included — Athens is 33% 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 Vienna on €3,000, you need
€1,998/ month net
33% less than today (-€1,002)
- Vienna today
- Basket €1,856 · left over €1,144 (38%)
- Athens at the matched salary
- Basket €1,236 · left over €762 (38%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 138% over in Athens (adequate) vs 216% in Vienna. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇦🇹 Vienna
Huge subsidised housing stock keeps rents unusually sane for a rich capital.
Monthly budget: €1,856
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 Vienna or Athens?
On salary, Vienna pays more for tech roles (€4,000 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,144 in Vienna at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €1,150 in Vienna against €700 in Athens. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Vienna at 75 and Athens at 71 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.