Cost of living comparison

compared to

Asmara vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 13.8% more expensive than Riyadh.

Restaurants
pay 83.4% more in Asmara
Groceries
pay 52.0% more in Asmara
Transportation
pay 96.9% more in Asmara
Housing
pay 4.1% less in Asmara
Childcare
pay 88.8% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports
pay 76.0% less in Asmara
Clothing
pay 33.5% more in Asmara

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

Asmara vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of Riyadh, you would:

pay 83.4% more for restaurants

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.00
SAR30.00
$12.00
ERN180.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
SAR30.00
$5.99
ERN89.85
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.75
SAR2.82
$1.25
ERN18.75

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pay 52.0% more for groceries

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Bread
1 loaf
$1.31
SAR4.91
??
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.27
SAR16.00
$1.50
ERN22.50
Milk (1 gallon) $6.23
SAR23.37
$5.30
ERN79.49

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pay 96.9% more for transportation

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.31
SAR8.65
$8.52
ERN127.76
Monthly public transit pass $37.33
SAR140.01
$8.00
ERN120.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
$66,666.00
ERN999,990.00

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pay 4.1% less for housing

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$74.49
SAR279.42
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
$475.00
ERN7,125.00
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $846.11
SAR3,173.60
$400.00
ERN6,000.00

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pay 88.8% less for childcare

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $461.83
SAR1,732.23
$25.00
ERN375.00
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
$1,675.00
ERN25,125.00

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pay 76.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.87
SAR7.00
$0.80
ERN12.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.10
SAR15.39
$0.82
ERN12.38
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.33
SAR27.50
??

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pay 33.5% more for clothing

 
Riyadh
Asmara
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$59.01
SAR221.34
$82.50
ERN1,237.50
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.27
SAR241.07
$75.00
ERN1,125.00
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.52
SAR414.53
$200.00
ERN3,000.00

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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: December 2025
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