# Athens vs Helsinki

> On balanced weights, Athens comes out ahead: 60 against 53 out of 100, mostly on nice days and winter daylight. Reference profile: one person, €60,000 gross a year, a one-bedroom home, everyday spending of €1,200 a month in Lisbon scaled by each country's price level, balanced weights. Figures as of 2026-11-05. Canonical page: https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/athens-gr-vs-helsinki-fi/

Scores out of 100: Athens 60, Helsinki 53. Make it yours: https://borgo.abcastor.com/?cities=athens-gr,helsinki-fi

## Line by line

| Line | Athens | Helsinki |
|---|---|---|
| Money left each month | €3,201 take-home a month | €3,532 take-home a month |
| Cost of living | Add your rent (World Development Indicators) | €2,683 a month (Rents of dwellings (Statistics Finland table 15fc); World Development Indicators) |
| Nice days | 97 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 23 nice days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Winter daylight | 9 h 31 min | 5 h 49 min |
| Sunshine | 2,881 h a year (Meteostat climate normals) | 1,890 h a year (WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020) |
| Dry days | 65 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 143 wet days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Clean air | 12.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) | 5.4 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026)) |
| Safety | 0.8 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) | 1.0 homicides per 100k (World Development Indicators) |
| Long, healthy lives | 81.8 years (World Development Indicators) | 82.3 years (World Development Indicators) |
| Health costs | €50 a month (World Development Indicators) | €58 a month (World Development Indicators) |
| Childcare costs | no child of childcare age | no child of childcare age |
| Paid leave for parents | 43 weeks (mother 37, father 6) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) | 51 weeks (mother 40, father 11) (OECD Family Database: parental leave systems (PF2.1)) |
| Happiness | 6.90 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) | 7.80 of 10 (OECD Well-being Database (How's Life?)) |
| Research output | 64 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) | 61 of 100 (OpenAlex institutions) |
| Time difference from home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Flight home | set your home city | set your home city |
| Airport nearby | 20 km (OurAirports airports) | 17 km (OurAirports airports) |
| Public transport | no data | 52 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Rail and metro stations | 74 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 81 stations (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Short commutes | no data | 35 minutes (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Cycle network | 0.22 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 7.00 km per km² (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Everyday needs on foot | 100 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) | 93 % of streets (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API: walking and cycling) |
| Walking and cycling to work | no data | 22.0 % of commuters (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Quick way out by bike | 4.8 km, about 19 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) | 9.2 km, about 37 min by bike (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025 (R2024A), general characteristics) |
| Near the sea | 6 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) | 2 km (Natural Earth (coastline, land, countries and populated places)) |
| Near the mountains | 19 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) | 300 km (Terrain Tiles (Terrarium) on AWS Open Data) |
| Green space | 29.7 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 29.6 % of land (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Fast internet | 43 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) | 38 Mbit/s (M-Lab NDT statistics (daily city aggregates)) |
| English spoken | 51 % speak English (CLDR territory information) | 70 % speak English (CLDR territory information) |
| International crowd | no data | 17.5 % born abroad (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Doctors | 6.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) | 3.6 per 1,000 (World Development Indicators) |
| Jobs | 8.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) | 9.5 % unemployed (World Development Indicators) |
| Graduates around | 44.6 % of adults (Population by educational attainment and NUTS 2 region (edat_lfse_04)) | 49.9 % of adults (Urban Audit: cities and greater cities) |
| Developers around | 22.7 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) | 21.5 per 1,000 (GitHub user search) |
| Clean government | 0.25 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) | 2.14 of 2.5 (Worldwide Governance Indicators) |
| Politics, left to right | no data | centre, 5.5 of 10; say where you stand (Political position from election results) |
| Abortion law | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) | on request, 10 weeks or later; say where you stand (Abortion in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Same-sex couples in law | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) | marriage; say where you stand (Same-sex couples in law, from the statutes cited) |
| Founders Running Club | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) | a chapter (Founders Running Club communities) |
| Coworking spaces | 8 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19 spaces (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Climbing gyms | 10 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 11 gyms (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Swimming pools | 17 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) | 19 pools (OpenStreetMap via the Overpass API) |
| Beach days | 66 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 4 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Run or ride days | 248 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 168 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few muggy days | 7 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 3 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few grey days | 55 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 180 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Cool nights for sleeping | 96 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 2 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few heat-stress days | 71 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few snow days | 1 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 38 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |
| Few windy days | 0 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) | 14 days a year (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis)) |

## Questions

### Is it cheaper to live in Athens or Helsinki?

Everyday prices are lower in Greece: 65.5 against 90.6 on the World Bank price level index (United States = 100, 2025). Open rent data is missing for Athens, so the full monthly cost needs your own rent.

### How much do you take home on €60,000 a year in Athens and in Helsinki?

About €38,407 a year in Athens (Greece 2026 tax rules) and €42,379 in Helsinki (Finland 2026 tax rules), after income tax and employee social contributions.

### Which is warmer, Athens or Helsinki?

Athens is warmer: average daily highs of the air over the year are 22.8 °C against 9.3 °C in Helsinki (Historical weather (ERA5 reanalysis), Open-Meteo, 2021-2025).

### Which has cleaner air, Athens or Helsinki?

Helsinki has cleaner air: an annual PM2.5 mean of 5.4 µg/m³ against 12.6 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database; WHO guideline 5 µg/m³; 2025 and 2024).

### Can a citizen of Greece live and work in Helsinki without a visa?

Yes. EU and EEA free movement rules let citizens of Greece live and work in Finland without a visa.

## Cite

Borgo, "Athens vs Helsinki", https://borgo.abcastor.com/compare/athens-gr-vs-helsinki-fi/, figures as of 2026-11-05.