Cost of living comparison

Ethiopia

compared to

Kenya

Nairobi vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 16.6% cheaper than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 21.2% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 1.2% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 26.5% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 50.8% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 13.8% less in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 74.1% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 31.6% less in Nairobi

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

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

Nairobi vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.2% more for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.00 ETB654.34	$6.16 KES799.26	+54.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	$6.54 KES849.21	+0.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB99.06	$0.64 KES83.49	+6.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 ETB107.50	$0.59 KES76.60	-10.2%
Average			+21.2%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.2% more for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 ETB194.58	$0.55 KES71.20	-53.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 ETB604.57	$5.32 KES690.75	+44.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.09 ETB669.40	$3.32 KES430.19	-19.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ETB289.63	$1.73 KES224.03	-2.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.59 ETB750.34	$2.90 KES375.95	-36.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.44 ETB399.44	$1.52 KES197.47	-37.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.30 ETB48.73	$0.49 KES63.08	+63.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.99 ETB161.65	$0.91 KES118.11	-7.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB50.42	$0.51 KES65.97	+64.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 ETB35.99	$0.49 KES63.93	+123.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 ETB79.77	$0.49 KES63.19	-0.1%
Average			+1.2%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.5% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.53 ETB577.22	$5.96 KES773.87	+69.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	$46.20 KES5,994.46	+118.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB9M	$21,558.36 KES3M	-60.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.53 ETB576.64	$13.86 KES1,798.34	+293.2%
Average			+26.5%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.8% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	$34.94 KES4,534.27	-83.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.95 ETB116K	$445.43 KES57,799.49	-37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	$216.55 KES28,099.01	-45.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	$42.75 KES5,547.48	-72.7%
Average			-50.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.8% less for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	$248.58 KES32,255.88	+82.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB5M	$12,318.78 KES2M	-59.2%
Average			-13.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 74.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ETB130.87	$2.31 KES299.72	+188.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.92 ETB150.32	$2.64 KES343.02	+187.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	$3.54 KES459.57	-55.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	$50.37 KES6,535.62	+14.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB613.45	$7.70 KES999.08	+105.3%
Average			+74.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.6% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	$28.10 KES3,646.63	-15.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	$29.04 KES3,768.70	-59.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	$69.92 KES9,073.43	-11.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	$58.58 KES7,601.62	-29.2%
Average			-31.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Nairobi?

More cost comparisons

Addis Ababa vs.

Vienna

Addis Ababa vs.

Shanghai

Addis Ababa vs.

Reykjavik

Addis Ababa vs.

Berlin

Addis Ababa vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Addis Ababa vs.

Warsaw

Addis Ababa vs.

London

Addis Ababa vs.

Toronto

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Addis Ababa

Add prices for Nairobi

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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