Addis Ababa vs Asmara - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 10, 2024

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1103	$524
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2584	$1293
🏠 One person rent	$604	$228
🏘️ Family rent	$1197	$435
🍽️ Food expenses	$349	$202
🚐 Transport expenses	$63.2	$45.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$231	$397
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	32	8
😀 Quality of life	40	27
🏙️ Population	5.23M	963K

The cost of living in Addis Ababa is 110% more expensive than in Asmara. Cities ranked 4928th and 8485th ($1103 vs $524) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Ethiopia and Eritrea, respectively. Check Ethiopia vs Eritrea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Addis Ababa compared to 0.8 months in Asmara. Addis Ababa ranked 1st best city to live in Ethiopia vs Asmara ranked 1st in Eritrea, while ranked 6957th and 8376th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Addis Ababa vs Asmara infographic

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Prices in Addis Ababa vs Asmara

Prices for goods and services in Addis Ababa and Asmara are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.55	$2.97
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30	$19.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.04	$4.48
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1	$1.81
☕ Cappuccino	$1.31	$1.85
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.82	$0.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$618	$224
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$466	$150
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1617	$494
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$891	$316
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$99.6	$36.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$152	$56.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$8.04	$27.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	14.86%	12.69%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2736	$1574
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2013	$850
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.42	$0.31
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$9.93	$11.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$3.67	$5.79
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.32	$1.1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.6	$1.15
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.18	$0.6
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.93	$1.14
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.7	$1.48
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.5	$6.71
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.1	$4.32
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.5	$6.48
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.54	$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$1.21
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.93	$0.94
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.68	$0.85
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$0.97
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.32
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$0.75	$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.01	$7.44
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.2	$1.45
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.97	$2.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.08	$3.24
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$1.27	$2.81
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.52	$1.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.38	$1.26
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$88.9	$22.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.68	$4.07
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$12.9	$12.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.28	$3.76
👖 Brand Jeans	$48.2	$25.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$111	$61.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$86.8	$81.1
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3443	$2898

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Addis Ababa

Distance	City	Cost of living
222 km or 138 mi	Awasa	$810
254 km or 158 mi	Dessie	$814
258 km or 161 mi	Jimma	$590
320 km or 199 mi	Bahir Dar	$799
349 km or 217 mi	Dire Dawa	$667
374 km or 232 mi	Harar	$626
421 km or 261 mi	Gondar	$946
447 km or 278 mi	Jijiga	$671
460 km or 286 mi	Dikhil	$554
495 km or 308 mi	Ali Sabieh	$555
498 km or 309 mi	Borama	$527
502 km or 312 mi	Mekelle	$686
561 km or 348 mi	Djibouti City	$584
568 km or 353 mi	Ad-Damazin	$827
587 km or 365 mi	Hargeisa	$684
595 km or 370 mi	Obock	$553
651 km or 405 mi	Mendefera	$490
666 km or 414 mi	El-Gadarif	$935
701 km or 436 mi	Asmara	$524
735 km or 457 mi	Massawa	$492
752 km or 467 mi	Keren	$491
758 km or 471 mi	Kassala	$988
761 km or 473 mi	Zabid	$489
767 km or 476 mi	Taiz	$514
780 km or 485 mi	Malakal	$502
789 km or 490 mi	Al Hudaydah	$513
805 km or 500 mi	Aden	$509
806 km or 501 mi	Kosti	$851
807 km or 502 mi	Ibb	$504
851 km or 529 mi	Bor	$513
853 km or 530 mi	Baidoa	$711
870 km or 541 mi	Dhamar	$491
914 km or 568 mi	Sayyan	$491
914 km or 568 mi	Juba	$520
920 km or 572 mi	Sanaa	$550
989 km or 615 mi	Khartoum North	$868
995 km or 618 mi	Khartoum	$889
995 km or 618 mi	Gulu	$579
1005 km or 625 mi	Meru	$535
1006 km or 625 mi	Omdurman	$902

Cities near Asmara

Distance	City	Cost of living
51 km or 32 mi	Mendefera	$490
63 km or 39 mi	Massawa	$492
71 km or 44 mi	Keren	$491
214 km or 133 mi	Mekelle	$686
270 km or 168 mi	Kassala	$988
342 km or 212 mi	Gondar	$946
407 km or 253 mi	El-Gadarif	$935
437 km or 272 mi	Al Hudaydah	$513
448 km or 279 mi	Bahir Dar	$799
473 km or 294 mi	Dessie	$814
490 km or 304 mi	Zabid	$489
498 km or 310 mi	Abha	$915
509 km or 316 mi	Port Sudan	$1096
513 km or 319 mi	Bareq	$895
548 km or 340 mi	Sa'dah	$488
567 km or 352 mi	Sanaa	$550
580 km or 361 mi	Sayyan	$491
583 km or 362 mi	Taiz	$514
585 km or 363 mi	Ibb	$504
589 km or 366 mi	Atbara	$1094
596 km or 370 mi	Dhamar	$491
600 km or 373 mi	Dikhil	$554
602 km or 374 mi	Obock	$553
606 km or 376 mi	Najran	$934
618 km or 384 mi	Djibouti City	$584
620 km or 385 mi	Ali Sabieh	$555
633 km or 393 mi	Ad-Damazin	$827
649 km or 403 mi	Bisha	$895
674 km or 419 mi	Khartoum North	$868
684 km or 425 mi	Mecca	$940
685 km or 426 mi	Khartoum	$889
691 km or 429 mi	Jeddah	$1123
693 km or 430 mi	Omdurman	$902
701 km or 436 mi	Addis Ababa	$1103
715 km or 444 mi	Dire Dawa	$667
715 km or 444 mi	Kosti	$851
717 km or 446 mi	Aden	$509
755 km or 469 mi	Harar	$626
758 km or 471 mi	Borama	$527
788 km or 489 mi	Jijiga	$671