Cost of living comparison

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

compared to

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 0.2% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 21.6% less in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 18.1% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 22.9% less in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 9.8% less in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 77.1% more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.4% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 3.9% more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, groceries, and clothing in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and housing are lower in Addis Ababa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.6% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED39.99	$6.00 ETB809.40	-44.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED34.99	$6.24 ETB841.14	-34.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 AED3.95	$0.78 ETB105.90	-27.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.50 ETB67.74	+20.2%
Average			-21.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.1% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.37 AED5.03	$1.20 ETB162.09	-12.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.80 AED17.63	$4.85 ETB654.73	+1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.85 AED25.17	$6.08 ETB820.01	-11.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.16 AED11.62	$2.65 ETB357.37	-16.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.61 AED13.24	$5.65 ETB761.67	+56.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 AED3.67	$3.30 ETB445.35	+230.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.51 ETB68.31	-38.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 AED2.97	$1.08 ETB145.46	+33.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 AED2.52	$0.39 ETB52.14	-43.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 AED1.83	$0.31 ETB41.99	-37.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$0.79 ETB107.13	+36.7%
Average			+18.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.9% less for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.03 AED11.11	$4.88 ETB658.28	+61.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.50 AED89.99	$10.00 ETB1,349.00	-59.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,026.41 AED165,354.98	$25,000.00 ETB3,372,500.00	-44.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.23 AED26.56	$3.67 ETB494.41	-49.3%
Average			-22.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.8% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$103.04 AED378.40	$171.17 ETB23,090.38	+66.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,349.31 AED4,955.19	$645.10 ETB87,023.99	-52.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,005.59 AED3,692.95	$422.74 ETB57,027.93	-58.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$119.02 AED437.07	$124.84 ETB16,840.68	+4.9%
Average			-9.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 77.1% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$669.40 AED2,458.29	$81.47 ETB10,990.74	-87.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,841.46 AED47,158.96	$43,916.67 ETB5,924,358.33	+242.0%
Average			+77.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.89 AED39.99	$1.00 ETB134.90	-90.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.88 AED21.61	$1.15 ETB155.10	-80.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$4.00 ETB539.60	-34.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.83 AED238.09	$90.59 ETB12,221.27	+39.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED49.99	$6.70 ETB903.83	-50.8%
Average			-43.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.9% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.20 AED246.77	$48.33 ETB6,520.17	-28.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.59 AED229.87	$75.17 ETB10,139.98	+20.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$103.06 AED378.49	$108.84 ETB14,682.89	+5.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.93 AED370.65	$119.32 ETB16,096.50	+18.2%
Average			+3.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2025

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