Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Addis Ababa and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $1,287 in Addis Ababa, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Addis Ababa
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Addis Ababa Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index

Jump to prices

Addis Ababa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,287

/mo nomad

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$535

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Addis Ababa and in Bangalore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Addis Ababa and in Bangalore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,287 in Addis Ababa versus $535 in Bangalore.

Addis Ababa $1,287
Bangalore $535

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,891 in Addis Ababa versus $927 in Bangalore.

Addis Ababa $1,891
Bangalore $927

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,495 in Addis Ababa versus $1,318 in Bangalore.

Addis Ababa $2,495
Bangalore $1,318

Living in Addis Ababa is roughly 140% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Addis Ababa 4% lower, Bangalore 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.09 ETB 658

$3.04 ₹294

34.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.95 ETB 6,901

$17.83 ₹1,725

140.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.60 ETB 1,061

$4.78 ₹463

38.08%

Cappuccino

$0.89 ETB 142

$2.24 ₹217

-60.27%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ETB 94.2

$0.39 ₹37.49

51.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 ETB 103

$0.14 ₹13.64

357.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.81 ETB 131

$2.34 ₹226

-65.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ETB 372

$3.91 ₹379

-40.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 ETB 171

$0.61 ₹58.6

75.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 ETB 188

$0.57 ₹55.2

105.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 ETB 349

$0.81 ₹77.9

167.90%

Eggs

$1.75 ETB 281

$1.12 ₹109

56.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.35 ETB 1,181

$5.93 ₹574

23.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 ETB 1,632

$3.85 ₹373

163.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.15 ETB 1,470

Apples (1kg)

$5.31 ETB 853

$2.78 ₹269

91.01%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 ETB 110

$0.75 ₹72.2

-9.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 ETB 347

$1.22 ₹118

77.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ETB 105

$0.40 ₹39.19

62.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.49 ETB 79.3

$0.38 ₹36.40

28.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 ETB 167

$0.36 ₹34.72

188.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 ETB 111

$0.42 ₹40.31

64.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ETB 92.5

$0.32 ₹31.21

81.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.83 ETB 1,258

$4.61 ₹446

69.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.77 ETB 927

$9.01 ₹872

-35.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ETB 109

$1.86 ₹180

-63.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 ETB 206

$2.92 ₹283

-56.16%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.35 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 ETB 78.1

$0.51 ₹48.89

-3.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.23 ETB 3,411

$15.71 ₹1,520

35.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ETB 214

$1.01 ₹97.8

31.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ETB 43.19

$0.30 ₹29.43

-10.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ETB 327

$2.10 ₹203

-2.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 ETB 144

$1.08 ₹104

-16.67%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$55.7K ETB 8.9M

$12.6K ₹1.2M

342.99%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$56.7K ETB 9.1M

$19.1K ₹1.8M

197.45%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$204 ETB 32.9K

$30.32 ₹2,934

574.41%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.20 ETB 1,156

$4.11 ₹398

75.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$208 ETB 33.5K

$10.23 ₹990

1936.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.98 ETB 7,066

$18.61 ₹1,801

136.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.11 ETB 5,803

$5.95 ₹576

506.89%

Cinema Ticket

$3.74 ETB 600

$4.60 ₹446

-18.70%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$137 ETB 22.0K

$104 ₹10.1K

31.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.1K ETB 4.8M

$3,176 ₹307.3K

848.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.12 ETB 5,322

$32.29 ₹3,125

2.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.5 ETB 11.5K

$29.85 ₹2,889

139.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 ETB 12.7K

$53.3 ₹5,160

48.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.9 ETB 13.5K

$39.66 ₹3,838

111.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$694 ETB 111.6K

$309 ₹29.9K

124.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 ETB 62.7K

$175 ₹16.9K

122.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,309 ETB 371.0K

$788 ₹76.3K

192.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$782 ETB 125.6K

$481 ₹46.6K

62.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,918 ETB 308.2K

$1,889 ₹182.8K

1.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$991 ETB 159.2K

$1,067 ₹103.3K

-7.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$205 ETB 32.9K

$919 ₹89.0K

-77.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

8.5

117.65%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Addis Ababa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Addis Ababa

$420 32.4%

Bangalore

$45 8.2% 89.4% $375

Accommodation & Living

Addis Ababa

$390 30.1%

Bangalore

$175 32% 55.1% $215

Groceries & Markets

Addis Ababa

$212 16.3%

Bangalore

$122 22.4% 42.2% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Addis Ababa

$120 9.3%

Bangalore

$70 12.8% 42.1% $51

Eating Out

Addis Ababa

$77 5.9%

Bangalore

$87 15.9% 13.5% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Addis Ababa

$51 4%

Bangalore

$28 5.1% 45.9% $24

Getting Around

Addis Ababa

$26 2%

Bangalore

$20 3.7% 21.6% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $694 in Addis Ababa and $309 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 349% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43.00 in Addis Ababa vs $18.00 in Bangalore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $212 vs $122 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇹 Addis Ababa

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🕒 Local time

05:33 5:33 AM

08:03 8:03 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Addis Ababa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,500,000 Capital

8,495,492

💱 Currency

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to ETB – Ethiopian Birr Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Birr (Br)

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

USD to ETB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Addis Ababa Bangalore 4,260 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Addis Ababa
Bangalore

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Addis Ababa vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Addis Ababa and Bangalore differ by about 140% in total monthly costs ($1,287 vs $535 including rent). Bangalore is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 349% lower in Bangalore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $694 in Addis Ababa versus $309 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,287 per month in Addis Ababa versus $535 in Bangalore – a 140% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 35% less than in Addis Ababa. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $535 in Bangalore versus $1,287 in Addis Ababa, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bangalore but tight or insufficient in Addis Ababa. The gap between the two cities makes Bangalore the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 140% less than in Addis Ababa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.