Cost of living comparison

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

compared to

Asmara, Eritrea

Asmara vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 12.6% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 25.6% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 71.0% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 24.6% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 82.8% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.1% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 33.5% more in Asmara

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

Asmara vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 ETB812.54	$18.14 ERN272.04	+202.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.24 ETB844.40	$5.99 ERN89.85	-3.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ETB106.31	$1.83 ERN27.50	+133.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ETB68.00	$1.33 ERN20.00	+165.5%
Average			+124.4%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.6% more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ETB162.72	$0.50 ERN7.50	-58.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.85 ETB657.27	$1.50 ERN22.50	-69.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 ETB823.19	$6.14 ERN92.11	+1.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.65 ETB358.76	$4.52 ERN67.80	+70.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.65 ETB764.62	$12.17 ERN182.57	+115.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ETB447.08	$5.54 ERN83.16	+67.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 ETB68.57	$0.58 ERN8.69	+14.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 ETB146.02	$0.86 ERN12.85	-20.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 ETB52.35	$0.55 ERN8.32	+43.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB42.15	$0.80 ERN11.94	+155.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ETB107.55	$0.48 ERN7.26	-39.1%
Average			+25.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.0% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.88 ETB660.83	$8.83 ERN132.49	+81.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 ETB1,354.23	$8.00 ERN120.00	-20.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 ETB3,385,577.18	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	+166.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.67 ETB496.33	$5.73 ERN85.99	+56.4%
Average			+71.0%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.6% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$171.17 ETB23,179.92	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+16.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.10 ETB87,361.43	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	-26.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$422.74 ETB57,249.06	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	-5.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$124.84 ETB16,905.98	$21.03 ERN315.44	-83.2%
Average			-24.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 82.8% less for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$81.47 ETB11,033.36	$25.00 ERN375.00	-69.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$43,916.67 ETB5,947,330.57	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	-96.2%
Average			-82.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ETB135.42	$1.00 ERN15.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.15 ETB155.70	$0.77 ERN11.58	-32.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 ETB541.69	$2.00 ERN30.00	-50.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$90.59 ETB12,268.65	$27.00 ERN405.00	-70.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.70 ETB907.33	$1.10 ERN16.50	-83.6%
Average			-59.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.5% more for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.33 ETB6,545.45	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	+70.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB10,179.30	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	-0.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.84 ETB14,739.82	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+83.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.32 ETB16,158.91	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	-20.4%
Average			+33.5%

Addis Ababa vs. Asmara - 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: May 2025

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