Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kyoto vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary

Kyoto is 12.6% cheaper than Athens.

Restaurants
pay 33.7% less in Kyoto
Groceries
pay 43.9% more in Kyoto
Transportation
pay 28.7% more in Kyoto
Housing
pay 30.1% less in Kyoto
Childcare
pay 38.6% less in Kyoto
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.3% less in Kyoto
Clothing
pay 43.4% less in Kyoto

The cost of groceries and transportation in Kyoto are more expensive than in Athens. Expenses including clothing, childcare, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Kyoto.

Kyoto vs. Athens Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kyoto instead of Athens, you would:

pay 33.7% less for restaurants

 
Athens
Kyoto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€14.82
$10.02
¥1,576
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.51
€8.89
$5.35
¥840
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.48
€2.10
$0.92
¥145

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pay 43.9% more for groceries

 
Athens
Kyoto
Bread
1 loaf
$1.39
€1.17
$1.70
¥268
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.54
€6.38
$4.57
¥718
Milk (1 gallon) $7.20
€6.09
$6.67
¥1,049

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pay 28.7% more for transportation

 
Athens
Kyoto
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.94
€6.72
$4.43
¥697
Monthly public transit pass $35.04
€29.65
$66.82
¥10,505
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,198.27
€24,707.58
$22,332.63
¥4M

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pay 30.1% less for housing

 
Athens
Kyoto
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.45
€29.15
$32.58
¥5,121
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $685.67
€580.22
$570.06
¥89,614
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $609.10
€515.42
$318.25
¥50,029

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pay 38.6% less for childcare

 
Athens
Kyoto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $566.82
€479.64
$434.36
¥68,281
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,581.98
€9,800.67
$5,345.93
¥840K

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Athens
Kyoto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€4.94
$3.34
¥525
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.12
€3.48
$3.20
¥503
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.84
€4.94
$4.01
¥630

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pay 43.4% less for clothing

 
Athens
Kyoto
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$101.47
€85.87
$44.33
¥6,968
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.68
€40.35
$30.91
¥4,858
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.26
€89.07
$50.12
¥7,879

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: February 2026
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