Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 43.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 37.7% less in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 30.8% less in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 3.9% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 57.8% less in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 40.7% less in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.0% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 19.9% less in Addis Ababa

Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Addis Ababa.

Planning a move to Ethiopia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Addis Ababa vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.7% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$4.00 ETB644.20	-51.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$6.50 ETB1,046.83	-31.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.61 ETB97.52	-47.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.66 ETB105.83	+58.0%
Average			-37.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.8% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.19 ETB191.57	-26.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$3.70 ETB595.20	-36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$4.09 ETB659.02	-44.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.77 ETB285.14	-49.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$4.59 ETB738.71	+4.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$2.44 ETB393.25	+117.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.30 ETB47.97	-68.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.99 ETB159.14	+17.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.31 ETB49.63	-56.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.22 ETB35.43	-60.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.49 ETB78.53	-8.6%
Average			-30.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.9% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$3.53 ETB568.27	-2.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$21.11 ETB3,399.77	-20.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$55,000.00 ETB9M	+83.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$3.53 ETB567.70	-53.8%
Average			+3.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 57.8% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$212.33 ETB34,196.28	+140.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$706.95 ETB114K	-64.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$394.55 ETB63,542.24	-71.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$156.76 ETB25,246.96	+5.9%
Average			-57.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.7% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$136.41 ETB21,968.81	-82.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$30,187.50 ETB5M	+103.7%
Average			-40.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$0.80 ETB128.84	-93.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$0.92 ETB147.99	-84.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$8.00 ETB1,288.40	+19.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$44.15 ETB7,109.60	-53.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$3.75 ETB603.94	-75.0%
Average			-76.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.9% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$33.14 ETB5,337.08	-46.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$70.86 ETB11,411.54	+44.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$78.65 ETB12,666.23	-29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$82.70 ETB13,319.53	-24.9%
Average			-19.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Abu Dhabi vs. Addis Ababa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Addis Ababa?

More cost comparisons

Abu Dhabi vs.

New York City

Abu Dhabi vs.

Quito

Abu Dhabi vs.

Sydney

Abu Dhabi vs.

Warsaw

Abu Dhabi vs.

Paris

Abu Dhabi vs.

Moscow

Abu Dhabi vs.

Berlin

Abu Dhabi vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Ethiopia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.

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

Add prices for Abu Dhabi

Add prices for Addis Ababa

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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