City comparison
Cost of living in Warsaw vs Athens
One person needs about €1,422 a month in Warsaw and €1,236 in Athens, rent included — Athens 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 Warsaw on €3,000, you need
€2,608/ month net
13% less than today (-€392)
- Warsaw today
- Basket €1,422 · left over €1,578 (53%)
- Athens at the matched salary
- Basket €1,236 · left over €1,372 (53%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 138% over in Athens (adequate) vs 218% in Warsaw. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇵🇱 Warsaw
The best pay-to-cost ratio in the EU for engineers right now.
Monthly budget: €1,422
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 Warsaw or Athens?
On salary, Warsaw pays more for tech roles (€3,100 versus €1,700 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,678 in Warsaw at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €900 in Warsaw against €700 in Athens. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Warsaw at 80 and Athens at 71 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.