Cost of living comparison

 Ethiopia
compared to
Somalia vs. Ethiopia Cost of Living Summary

Somalia is 14.4% cheaper than Ethiopia overall.

Restaurants
pay 19.1% less in Somalia
Transportation
pay 40.1% more in Somalia
Housing
pay 64.9% less in Somalia
Childcare
pay 65.2% less in Somalia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 89.8% more in Somalia
Clothing
pay 67.2% less in Somalia

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

Somalia vs. Ethiopia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Somalia instead of Ethiopia, you would:

pay 19.1% less for restaurants

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.00
ETB789.78
$2.65
SOS1,514
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.24
ETB820.75
$4.67
SOS2,667
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.78
ETB103.33
$0.81
SOS462

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for groceries

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Bread
1 loaf
$1.20
ETB158.16
$0.97
SOS556
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.85
ETB638.86
$1.96
SOS1,119
Milk (1 gallon) $6.08
ETB800.13
$5.93
SOS3,389

Improve prices ·

pay 40.1% more for transportation

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.88
ETB642.32
$4.12
SOS2,355
Monthly public transit pass $10.00
ETB1,316.30
$25.00
SOS14,285
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,000.00
ETB3,290,741.60
$5,750.00
SOS3,285,536

Improve prices ·

pay 64.9% less for housing

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$171.17
ETB22,530.61
$30.62
SOS17,499
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $645.10
ETB84,914.30
$160.00
SOS91,424
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $422.74
ETB55,645.42
$93.33
SOS53,330

Improve prices ·

pay 65.2% less for childcare

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $81.47
ETB10,724.30
$55.21
SOS31,546
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $43,916.67
ETB5,780,736.08
$742.50
SOS424,263

Improve prices ·

pay 89.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.00
ETB131.63
$7.00
SOS4,000
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.15
ETB151.34
$1.24
SOS706
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.00
ETB526.52
$1.34
SOS769

Improve prices ·

pay 67.2% less for clothing

 
Ethiopia
Somalia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.33
ETB6,362.10
$18.61
SOS10,634
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$75.17
ETB9,894.16
$23.11
SOS13,206
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.84
ETB14,326.93
$25.89
SOS14,793

Improve prices ·
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: April 2025
Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Addis Ababa vs. Mogadishu

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Somalia or Ethiopia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.