Athens ranks among the least pricey cities to buy groceries, according to Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s ‘Grocery Index’ that reveals where a typical shopping basket is most expensive across European cities in 2025.
Based on data from Numbeo, an online crowd-sourced database examining perceived consumer prices and quality of life metrics, the Index compares food costs around the world, including many European cities. The findings are estimated using weighted prices of products like milk, bread, eggs, meat, and fruit.
Each city receives a score, with New York serving as the baseline at 100 points. Geneva is the most expensive of the world, scoring 106 points, while another Swiss city, Zurich, came in third with 103, edged out by a U.S. city, San Francisco, which scored 104.
While the Greek capital is counted among the least expensive for groceries in Europe, scoring 46 points, the analysis might be misleading, as it does not factor in real purchasing power, an index Greece ranks among the lowest in the EU in terms of average wage earnings.
Cairo in Egypt scored the lowest with 20, followed by Delhi (23), with Moscow (27) and Sao Paulo (31) rounding off the four cheapest cities to buy groceries.
Interestingly, there were notable discrepancies in grocery prices even between cities in the same country. London, for example, scored 62, compared to Birmingham’s 51 points.
Paris remains the most expensive city among Europe’s major economies when it comes to food prices, according to July 2025 data from Numbeo. Based on the total cost of 19 common grocery items, the French capital tops the list with an average of €107.20.
London follows with €89.54, while Berlin and Rome come in at €82.10 and €79.60, respectively. Madrid continues to offer the most affordable food prices among the group, with a total cost of €72.70.
