Cost of living comparison

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

compared to

Asmara, Eritrea

Asmara vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 19.4% more expensive than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 50.9% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 59.5% more in Asmara
Housing: pay 3.3% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 88.5% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 74.9% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 46.9% more in Asmara

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

Asmara vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Riyadh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.39 SAR31.45	$18.14 ERN272.04	+116.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR29.95	$5.99 ERN89.85	-25.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 SAR2.86	$1.83 ERN27.50	+140.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 SAR1.12	$1.33 ERN20.00	+348.2%
Average			+144.9%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.9% more for groceries

	Riyadh	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.24 SAR4.64	$0.50 ERN7.50	-59.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.91 SAR14.66	$1.50 ERN22.50	-61.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 SAR24.91	$6.14 ERN92.11	-7.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.63 SAR9.88	$4.52 ERN67.80	+71.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 SAR14.25	$12.17 ERN182.57	+220.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 SAR3.88	$5.54 ERN83.16	+436.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.94	$0.58 ERN8.69	-26.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 SAR3.07	$0.86 ERN12.85	+4.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.83	$0.55 ERN8.32	-26.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 SAR2.25	$0.80 ERN11.94	+32.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.64 SAR2.41	$0.48 ERN7.26	-24.7%
Average			+50.9%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.5% more for transportation

	Riyadh	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.31 SAR8.67	$8.83 ERN132.49	+282.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.27 SAR139.77	$8.00 ERN120.00	-78.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,280.09 SAR124,796.53	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	+100.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.70 SAR62.61	$5.73 ERN85.99	-65.7%
Average			+59.5%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3% less for housing

	Riyadh	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.70 SAR280.10	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+167.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,116.87 SAR4,188.13	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	-57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$782.38 SAR2,933.85	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	-48.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.80 SAR306.74	$21.03 ERN315.44	-74.3%
Average			-3.3%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 88.5% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$360.22 SAR1,350.78	$25.00 ERN375.00	-93.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,375.93 SAR38,908.56	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	-83.9%
Average			-88.5%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 74.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR7.99	$1.00 ERN15.00	-53.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.25 SAR15.94	$0.77 ERN11.58	-81.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.45 SAR27.95	$2.00 ERN30.00	-73.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.01 SAR378.79	$27.00 ERN405.00	-73.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.97 SAR59.90	$1.10 ERN16.50	-93.1%
Average			-74.9%

Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.9% more for clothing

	Riyadh	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.20 SAR195.76	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	+58.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.44 SAR204.14	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	+37.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$107.53 SAR403.22	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+86.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.80 SAR336.72	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	+5.8%
Average			+46.9%

Riyadh 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: April 2025

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See the cost of living in Saudi Arabia vs. Eritrea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Saudi Arabia and Eritrea.

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