Cost of living comparison

compared to

Addis Ababa vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 5.8 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 91.8% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 92.3% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 59.1% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 6.4 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 23.5 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 4.6 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 91.8% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.82 BTN251.43	$4.26 ETB655.54	+51.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.38 BTN301.71	$6.50 ETB1,000.24	+92.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 BTN47.27	$0.61 ETB93.51	+14.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN16.34	$0.57 ETB87.20	+209.2%
Average			+91.8%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 92.3% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.89 BTN79.45	$1.26 ETB193.73	+41.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.61 BTN143.31	$4.34 ETB667.36	+169.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN270.30	$5.42 ETB834.53	+78.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.96 BTN174.59	$2.28 ETB351.02	+16.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.70 BTN151.45	$5.76 ETB886.79	+239.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 BTN97.32	$3.08 ETB473.48	+182.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN58.39	$0.43 ETB66.40	-34.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 BTN73.75	$1.06 ETB162.78	+27.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN29.27	$0.40 ETB62.30	+23.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN20.15	$0.28 ETB42.45	+22.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN23.19	$0.91 ETB139.43	+248.5%
Average			+92.3%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.1% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN270.45	$4.81 ETB740.52	+58.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.01 BTN357.20	$12.00 ETB1,846.60	+199.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$55,000.00 ETB8,463,587.61
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.89 BTN1,684.56	$3.62 ETB556.29	-80.9%
Average			+59.1%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.4 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.44 BTN2,358.11	$130.20 ETB20,035.62	+392.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$122.58 BTN10,932.01	$815.99 ETB125,568.08	+565.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$71.54 BTN6,380.34	$512.43 ETB78,854.26	+616.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$17.80 BTN1,587.71	$121.97 ETB18,769.25	+585.1%
Average			+539.9%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 23.5 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.40 BTN20,994.09	$94.05 ETB14,472.47	-60.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$648.40 BTN57,828.02	$30,187.50 ETB4,645,355.47	+4555.7%
Average			+2247.8%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.82 BTN251.43	$0.90 ETB138.50	-68.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.40 BTN124.71	$1.09 ETB167.35	-22.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.66 BTN326.85	$5.10 ETB784.81	+39.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.99 BTN4,190.44	$62.10 ETB9,556.74	+32.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.38 BTN301.71	$3.75 ETB577.06	+10.8%
Average			-1.6%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.02 BTN804.56	$45.03 ETB6,929.81	+399.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.28 BTN1,005.70	$75.17 ETB11,566.90	+566.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.01 BTN2,765.69	$94.08 ETB14,477.62	+203.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.01 BTN2,765.69	$115.09 ETB17,709.97	+271.1%
Average			+360.1%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - 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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