Cost of living comparison

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 60.4% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 29.1% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 3.7% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 58.0% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 24.5% less in Beijing
Childcare: pay 4.9 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.7% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 14.3% less in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 29.1% less for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 ETB809.40	$4.17 CN¥29.98	-30.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.24 ETB841.14	$5.57 CN¥39.97	-10.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ETB105.90	$0.50 CN¥3.56	-36.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ETB67.74	$0.31 CN¥2.22	-38.4%
Average			-29.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.7% less for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ETB162.09	$1.43 CN¥10.30	+19.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.85 ETB654.73	$7.31 CN¥52.48	+50.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 ETB820.01	$7.17 CN¥51.49	+18.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.65 ETB357.37	$1.74 CN¥12.48	-34.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.65 ETB761.67	$1.53 CN¥10.99	-72.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ETB445.35	$0.92 CN¥6.59	-72.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 ETB68.31	$0.71 CN¥5.11	+40.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 ETB145.46	$0.89 CN¥6.37	-17.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 ETB52.14	$0.58 CN¥4.18	+50.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB41.99	$0.37 CN¥2.65	+18.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ETB107.13	$0.47 CN¥3.38	-40.7%
Average			-3.7%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.0% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.88 ETB658.28	$4.36 CN¥31.31	-10.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 ETB1,349.00	$33.40 CN¥239.83	+234.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 ETB3,372,500.00	$20,872.18 CN¥149,895.64	-16.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.67 ETB494.41	$4.59 CN¥32.98	+25.3%
Average			+58.0%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.5% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$171.17 ETB23,090.38	$13.28 CN¥95.40	-92.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.10 ETB87,023.99	$929.88 CN¥6,678.01	+44.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$422.74 ETB57,027.93	$492.44 CN¥3,536.52	+16.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$124.84 ETB16,840.68	$42.04 CN¥301.92	-66.3%
Average			-24.5%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 4.9 times more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$81.47 ETB10,990.74	$763.49 CN¥5,483.11	+837.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$43,916.67 ETB5,924,358.33	$22,913.01 CN¥164,552.10	-47.8%
Average			+394.7%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ETB134.90	$1.11 CN¥7.99	+11.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.15 ETB155.10	$3.60 CN¥25.87	+213.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 ETB539.60	$3.48 CN¥24.98	-13.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$90.59 ETB12,221.27	$65.46 CN¥470.08	-27.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.70 ETB903.83	$8.35 CN¥59.96	+24.6%
Average			+41.7%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.3% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.33 ETB6,520.17	$62.65 CN¥449.96	+29.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB10,139.98	$34.69 CN¥249.11	-53.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.84 ETB14,682.89	$83.45 CN¥599.33	-23.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.32 ETB16,096.50	$107.64 CN¥773.00	-9.8%
Average			-14.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Beijing - 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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