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Cost of living: Addis Ababa vs Nairobi

Choose where you live now and another city. You'll see what a normal month costs in each: rent, food, transport, bills and going out.

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Rent

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Nairobi is 6% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Monthly cost for one person, renting in the city centre. Includes rent, food, transport, bills and going out.

Where you live now

Addis AbabaEthiopia

ETB 178,525

per month

City to compare

NairobiKenya

KES 151,332

per month, about ETB 188,674

Monthly costs by category

Show amounts in
CategoryAddis AbabaNairobiDifference
Rent97,12497,1240%
Groceries31,49634,573+10%
Eating out15,31718,166+19%
Getting around7,6738,866+16%
Bills17,14419,106+11%
Going out6,9027,861+14%
Clothes2,8682,977+4%
Total per month178,525188,674+6%

Nairobi is 6% more expensive than Addis Ababa for one person renting in the city centre. The biggest gap is eating out (+19%); rent is the closest (0%). Someone spending ETB 178,525 a month in Addis Ababa would need about KES 151,332 in Nairobi for the same lifestyle. Rent takes 51% of the monthly budget in Nairobi and 54% in Addis Ababa.

Nairobi: no reports yet, so these numbers are starting estimates from the city's overall price level.How this is calculated

Prices

Everyday prices in Nairobi

The typical price people paid recently, and how it compares with Addis Ababa. "Estimated" means we don't have many reports yet.

Show amounts in
ItemTypical priceWhat people paidvs Addis AbabaReports
Cappuccino, regularEstimated ETB 250 +19% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Meal at an inexpensive restaurantEstimated ETB 1,021 +21% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Monthly public transport passEstimated ETB 7,407 +16% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
1-bedroom flat, city centreEstimated ETB 97,124 0% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
1-bedroom flat, outside the centreEstimated ETB 69,930 0% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Milk, 1 LEstimated ETB 111 +9% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Eggs, 12Estimated ETB 386 +11% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Chicken fillets, 1 kgEstimated ETB 1,114 +9% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Electricity, water, heating and cooling for 85 m²Estimated ETB 14,566 +12% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Home internet, 60 Mbps or fasterEstimated ETB 5,012 +11% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Mobile plan with calls and 10 GB+ dataEstimated ETB 4,627 +11% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Gym membership, monthlyEstimated ETB 5,615 +14% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Cinema ticketEstimated ETB 1,123 +14% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Jeans, Levi's 501 or similarEstimated ETB 8,074 +4% vs Addis Ababa 0 reports
Most reports (10th–90th percentile) Middle half of reports Same item in Addis Ababa
All prices in Nairobi

Method

Where the numbers come from

People who live in each city share what they paid. Every price is checked before it counts.

  1. People share prices

    Anyone can add what they paid, in their own currency. No account needed. A quick automatic check keeps bots out.

  2. We check every price

    Typos, wrong currencies and impossible amounts are caught. An unusual price only counts after someone else reports something similar.

  3. We work out the typical price

    We use the middle price of recent reports. When a city has only a few reports, we estimate the rest and label it "Estimated".

No reports in the last 30 days yet. When they arrive, you'll see here how many were counted, held for a second opinion or turned down.

Rankings

Most and least expensive cities

Monthly cost for one person renting in the city centre, in Ethiopian birrs. Pick a city to compare it with Addis Ababa. See all 118 cities

Most expensive

  1. 1New YorkUnited StatesETB 921,258
  2. 2San FranciscoUnited StatesETB 785,120
  3. 3ZurichSwitzerlandETB 754,034
  4. 4BostonUnited StatesETB 746,099
  5. 5GenevaSwitzerlandETB 715,084
  6. 6SingaporeSingaporeETB 689,759
  7. 7LondonUnited KingdomETB 670,827
  8. 8Los AngelesUnited StatesETB 642,317

Least expensive

  1. 118KarachiPakistanETB 91,302
  2. 117KathmanduNepalETB 103,991
  3. 116CairoEgyptETB 110,560
  4. 115DhakaBangladeshETB 112,085
  5. 114New DelhiIndiaETB 132,811
  6. 113TunisTunisiaETB 133,651
  7. 112BengaluruIndiaETB 140,905
  8. 111Chiang MaiThailandETB 145,323

Comparisons

Popular comparisons

Cities people often weigh up against each other. Monthly cost for one person, rent in the centre included.

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Browse cities by region

Rent, groceries, eating out and monthly budgets for every city we cover.

Asia 33

Europe 37

Americas 25

Middle East & Africa 17

Oceania 6

FAQ

Addis Ababa vs Nairobi: common questions

Is Nairobi cheaper than Addis Ababa?

No. One person renting a 1-bedroom flat in the centre spends about KES 151,332 (about ETB 188,674) a month in Nairobi, against ETB 178,525 in Addis Ababa: 6% more.

How much is rent in Nairobi compared with Addis Ababa?

A 1-bedroom flat in the centre of Nairobi rents for about KES 77,902 (about ETB 97,124) a month, 0% compared with ETB 97,124 in Addis Ababa. Outside the centre it's about KES 56,089 against ETB 69,930.

How much money do I need to move from Addis Ababa to Nairobi?

To keep the lifestyle that costs ETB 178,525 a month in Addis Ababa, plan on about KES 151,332 in Nairobi for one person. A family of four would need about KES 428,295, compared with ETB 493,616 in Addis Ababa.

How much does eating out cost in Nairobi vs Addis Ababa?

A meal at an inexpensive restaurant is about KES 819 (about ETB 1,021) in Nairobi and ETB 846 in Addis Ababa. A regular cappuccino is about KES 200 against ETB 210.

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