Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 1.5% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 11.6% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 19.1% less in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 63.3% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 11.4% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.8% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 58.5% less in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.6% less for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 ETB798.14	$3.85 KES499.63	-35.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.24 ETB829.44	$6.17 KES799.40	-1.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ETB104.42	$0.66 KES85.93	-15.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ETB66.80	$0.53 KES69.04	+6.0%
Average			-11.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.1% less for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ETB159.84	$0.56 KES72.36	-53.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.85 ETB645.63	$5.59 KES724.78	+15.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 ETB808.60	$3.35 KES434.56	-44.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.65 ETB352.40	$1.70 KES220.77	-35.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.65 ETB751.08	$2.71 KES351.32	-52.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.30 ETB439.16	$1.26 KES163.85	-61.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 ETB67.36	$0.50 KES64.78	-1.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 ETB143.43	$0.87 KES113.29	-19.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 ETB51.42	$0.46 KES59.27	+18.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 ETB41.41	$0.48 KES62.56	+55.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ETB105.64	$0.56 KES72.13	-30.0%
Average			-19.1%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.88 ETB649.12	$6.17 KES800.58	+26.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 ETB1,330.24	$30.83 KES3,997.01	+208.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 ETB3,325,591.40	$19,266.80 KES2,498,133.37	-22.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.67 ETB487.53	$13.87 KES1,798.66	+278.5%
Average			+122.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.3% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$171.17 ETB22,769.22	$39.39 KES5,107.66	-77.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$645.10 ETB85,813.56	$428.53 KES55,562.95	-33.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$422.74 ETB56,234.72	$166.44 KES21,580.03	-60.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$124.84 ETB16,606.44	$22.39 KES2,903.41	-82.1%
Average			-63.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 11.4% more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$81.47 ETB10,837.87	$166.67 KES21,611.05	+104.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$43,916.67 ETB5,841,955.56	$8,008.06 KES1,038,324.64	-81.8%
Average			+11.4%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.00 ETB133.02	$2.31 KES299.78	+131.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.15 ETB152.94	$2.24 KES290.55	+94.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 ETB532.09	$3.08 KES399.70	-22.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$90.59 ETB12,051.28	$44.12 KES5,720.22	-51.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.70 ETB891.26	$6.17 KES799.40	-8.0%
Average			+28.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.5% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.33 ETB6,429.48	$16.84 KES2,183.84	-65.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB9,998.94	$22.95 KES2,975.55	-69.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.84 ETB14,478.66	$61.84 KES8,017.82	-43.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.32 ETB15,872.61	$52.50 KES6,807.37	-56.0%
Average			-58.5%

Addis Ababa vs. Nairobi - 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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