Addis Ababa vs Asmara - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1180	$520
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2653	$1283
🏠 One person rent	$710	$224
🏘️ Family rent	$1338	$430
🍽️ Food expenses	$322	$202
🚐 Transport expenses	$63.8	$45.9
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$207	$389
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	32	8
😀 Quality of life	39	27
🏙️ Population	5.7M	963K

The cost of living in Addis Ababa is 127% more expensive than in Asmara. Cities ranked 4540th and 8486th ($1180 vs $520) 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 0.7 months in Asmara. Addis Ababa ranked 1st best city to live in Ethiopia vs Asmara ranked 1st in Eritrea, while ranked 7025th and 8455th 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	$4.24	$3.04
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$34.7	$18.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.27	$4.54
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1	$1.79
☕ Cappuccino	$1.18	$1.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.75	$0.46
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$637	$215
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$444	$145
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1854	$489
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$859	$310
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$97.4	$38.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$150	$57.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$130	$27.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	16.49%	12.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2510	$1560
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1875	$933
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.5	$0.33
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$9.91	$11.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$3.57	$5.91
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.29	$1.04
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.53	$1.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.17	$0.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.12	$1.12
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.45	$1.53
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.38	$6.81
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.1	$4.28
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$6.56
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.04	$2.21
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.07	$1.17
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$1.58
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.87	$0.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.67	$0.88
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.74	$0.96
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.42	$0.32
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$0.7	$1.11
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.46	$7.74
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.1	$1.43
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4	$2.82
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.94	$3.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$1.22	$2.77
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.49	$1.54
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.7	$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$84.2	$22.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$5.72	$4.07
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$12	$12.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.13	$3.71
👖 Brand Jeans	$49.1	$25.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$109	$59.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$86.3	$80.8
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3446	$2756

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	$886
254 km or 158 mi	Dessie	$838
258 km or 161 mi	Jimma	$654
320 km or 199 mi	Bahir Dar	$752
349 km or 217 mi	Dire Dawa	$756
374 km or 232 mi	Harar	$718
421 km or 261 mi	Gondar	$897
447 km or 278 mi	Jijiga	$764
460 km or 286 mi	Dikhil	$542
495 km or 308 mi	Ali Sabieh	$542
498 km or 309 mi	Borama	$518
502 km or 312 mi	Mekelle	$662
561 km or 348 mi	Djibouti City	$571
568 km or 353 mi	Ad-Damazin	$836
587 km or 365 mi	Hargeisa	$660
595 km or 370 mi	Obock	$540
651 km or 405 mi	Mendefera	$487
666 km or 414 mi	El-Gadarif	$943
701 km or 436 mi	Asmara	$520
735 km or 457 mi	Massawa	$486
752 km or 467 mi	Keren	$488
758 km or 471 mi	Kassala	$1006
761 km or 473 mi	Zabid	$482
767 km or 476 mi	Taiz	$507
780 km or 485 mi	Malakal	$496
789 km or 490 mi	Al Hudaydah	$505
805 km or 500 mi	Aden	$503
806 km or 501 mi	Kosti	$860
807 km or 502 mi	Ibb	$496
851 km or 529 mi	Bor	$506
853 km or 530 mi	Baidoa	$706
870 km or 541 mi	Dhamar	$486
914 km or 568 mi	Sayyan	$481
914 km or 568 mi	Juba	$513
920 km or 572 mi	Sanaa	$546
989 km or 615 mi	Khartoum North	$877
995 km or 618 mi	Khartoum	$888
995 km or 618 mi	Gulu	$594
1005 km or 625 mi	Meru	$541
1006 km or 625 mi	Omdurman	$908

Cities near Asmara

Distance	City	Cost of living
51 km or 32 mi	Mendefera	$487
63 km or 39 mi	Massawa	$486
71 km or 44 mi	Keren	$488
214 km or 133 mi	Mekelle	$662
270 km or 168 mi	Kassala	$1006
342 km or 212 mi	Gondar	$897
407 km or 253 mi	El-Gadarif	$943
437 km or 272 mi	Al Hudaydah	$505
448 km or 279 mi	Bahir Dar	$752
473 km or 294 mi	Dessie	$838
490 km or 304 mi	Zabid	$482
498 km or 310 mi	Abha	$910
509 km or 316 mi	Port Sudan	$1003
513 km or 319 mi	Bareq	$902
548 km or 340 mi	Sa'dah	$482
567 km or 352 mi	Sanaa	$546
580 km or 361 mi	Sayyan	$481
583 km or 362 mi	Taiz	$507
585 km or 363 mi	Ibb	$496
589 km or 366 mi	Atbara	$1131
596 km or 370 mi	Dhamar	$486
600 km or 373 mi	Dikhil	$542
602 km or 374 mi	Obock	$540
606 km or 376 mi	Najran	$937
618 km or 384 mi	Djibouti City	$571
620 km or 385 mi	Ali Sabieh	$542
633 km or 393 mi	Ad-Damazin	$836
649 km or 403 mi	Bisha	$905
674 km or 419 mi	Khartoum North	$877
684 km or 425 mi	Mecca	$979
685 km or 426 mi	Khartoum	$888
691 km or 429 mi	Jeddah	$1146
693 km or 430 mi	Omdurman	$908
701 km or 436 mi	Addis Ababa	$1180
715 km or 444 mi	Dire Dawa	$756
715 km or 444 mi	Kosti	$860
717 km or 446 mi	Aden	$503
755 km or 469 mi	Harar	$718
758 km or 471 mi	Borama	$518
788 km or 489 mi	Jijiga	$764