Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chisinau vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary
Chisinau is 38.3% more expensive than Asmara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.4% less in Chisinau
- Groceries
-
pay 33.7% less in Chisinau
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% less in Chisinau
- Housing
-
pay 2.5 times more in Chisinau
- Childcare
-
pay 6.2 times more in Chisinau
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.2 times more in Chisinau
- Clothing
-
pay 43.5% less in Chisinau
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing in Chisinau are more expensive than in Asmara. Expenses including clothing, groceries, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Chisinau. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Chisinau.
Chisinau vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chisinau instead of Asmara, you would:
pay 13.4% less for restaurants
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
ERN315.00
|
$11.22
MDL200.58
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.99
ERN89.85
|
$8.70
MDL155.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.00
ERN15.00
|
$1.21
MDL21.60
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.00
ERN15.00
|
$0.89
MDL15.92
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.7% less for groceries
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
?? |
$0.71
MDL12.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.50
ERN22.50
|
$4.89
MDL87.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.06
ERN90.85
|
$4.73
MDL84.61
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.38
ERN65.70
|
$2.79
MDL49.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$12.17
ERN182.57
|
$2.36
MDL42.13
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$5.54
ERN83.16
|
$0.44
MDL7.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.58
ERN8.69
|
$0.87
MDL15.60
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.91
ERN13.61
|
$0.94
MDL16.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
ERN7.94
|
$1.01
MDL17.97
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.82
ERN12.25
|
$0.31
MDL5.58
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.42
ERN6.35
|
$0.25
MDL4.40
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% less for transportation
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.46
ERN141.95
|
$6.44
MDL115.06
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$8.00
ERN120.00
|
$13.52
MDL241.70
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$66,666.00
ERN1000K
|
$29,507.41
MDL528K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$4.94
MDL88.26
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation
pay 2.5 times more for housing
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
$10.59
MDL189.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$250.00
ERN3,750.00
|
$679.74
MDL12,152.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
$435.34
MDL7,782.96
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$19.12
ERN286.76
|
$185.85
MDL3,322.64
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing
pay 6.2 times more for childcare
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$25.00
ERN375.00
|
$434.06
MDL7,759.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,600.00
ERN39,000.00
|
$5,841.67
MDL104K
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare
pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.60
ERN9.00
|
$2.24
MDL40.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$0.80
ERN12.00
|
$2.16
MDL38.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$3.42
MDL61.18
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$27.00
ERN405.00
|
$41.67
MDL745.01
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$1.20
ERN18.00
|
$8.41
MDL150.43
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 43.5% less for clothing
|
Asmara
|
Chisinau
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$135.00
ERN2,025.00
|
$79.80
MDL1,426.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$120.00
ERN1,800.00
|
$47.07
MDL841.43
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
|
$114.14
MDL2,040.51
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$150.00
ERN2,250.00
|
$115.56
MDL2,065.97
|
|
Asmara vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Asmara vs. Chisinau
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Eritrea vs. Moldova.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Eritrea and Moldova.
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chisinau or Asmara. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.