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
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.29
SAR1.10
|
$1.00
ERN15.00
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants
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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
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.81
SAR10.53
|
$4.38
ERN65.70
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.67
SAR17.52
|
$12.17
ERN182.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.03
SAR3.85
|
$5.54
ERN83.16
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
SAR2.87
|
$0.58
ERN8.69
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.82
SAR3.07
|
$0.91
ERN13.61
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
SAR2.63
|
$0.50
ERN7.56
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
SAR2.17
|
$0.70
ERN10.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.66
SAR2.48
|
$0.43
ERN6.50
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries
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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
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.40
SAR69.01
|
?? | |
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation
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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
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.07
SAR307.85
|
$21.03
ERN315.44
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of housing
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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
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare
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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
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$104.43
SAR391.70
|
$27.00
ERN405.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.33
SAR57.50
|
$1.10
ERN16.50
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports
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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
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$98.25
SAR368.53
|
$95.00
ERN1,425.00
|
|
Riyadh vs. Asmara - 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: December 2025
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