Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Belgrade and Addis Ababa

For one person, living is cheaper in Addis Ababa: $1,300 a month against $1,541 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
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Belgrade Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Addis Ababa
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Addis Ababa Living Index

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Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,541

/mo nomad

Addis Ababa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,541 in Belgrade versus $1,300 in Addis Ababa.

Belgrade $1,541
Addis Ababa $1,300

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,343 in Belgrade versus $1,914 in Addis Ababa.

Belgrade $2,343
Addis Ababa $1,914

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,146 in Belgrade versus $2,528 in Addis Ababa.

Belgrade $3,146
Addis Ababa $2,528

Living in Belgrade is roughly 18% more expensive than in Addis Ababa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Belgrade is 13% above, Addis Ababa is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.09 RSD 1,379

$4.07 ETB 654

221.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.1 RSD 5,914

$42.77 ETB 6,877

31.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.35 RSD 1,407

$6.63 ETB 1,066

101.36%

Cappuccino

$3.10 RSD 327

$0.88 ETB 141

252.27%

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

$2.72 RSD 287

$0.58 ETB 93.7

368.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 RSD 236

$0.64 ETB 103

250.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.51 RSD 370

$0.77 ETB 124

355.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 RSD 428

$2.23 ETB 359

82.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 RSD 146

$1.07 ETB 172

29.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 RSD 118

$1.16 ETB 186

-3.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.65 RSD 279

$2.17 ETB 349

22.12%

Eggs

$2.69 RSD 283

$1.79 ETB 287

50.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 RSD 1,151

$7.51 ETB 1,208

45.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 RSD 687

$10.28 ETB 1,653

-36.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.55 RSD 1,638

$9.49 ETB 1,526

63.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 RSD 167

$5.25 ETB 844

-69.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 RSD 193

$0.64 ETB 102

185.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 RSD 190

$2.12 ETB 340

-15.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.10 RSD 326

$0.65 ETB 105

376.92%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 RSD 91.2

$0.50 ETB 81.0

74.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.66 RSD 69.2

$1.08 ETB 174

-38.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 RSD 80.9

$0.69 ETB 110

11.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 RSD 72.6

$0.58 ETB 92.7

18.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.73 RSD 499

$8.01 ETB 1,289

-40.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.61 RSD 908

$5.68 ETB 914

51.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RSD 99.2

$0.67 ETB 108

40.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 RSD 159

$1.22 ETB 195

23.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ETB 82.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.05 ETB 3,385

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 RSD 318

$1.29 ETB 208

134.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 RSD 104

$0.29 ETB 47.25

241.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.07 RSD 1,799

$1.96 ETB 314

770.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 RSD 197

$0.96 ETB 155

94.79%

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

$31.0K RSD 3.3M

$55.7K ETB 9.0M

-44.26%

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

$23.4K RSD 2.5M

$56.1K ETB 9.0M

-58.27%

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

$212 RSD 22.4K

$202 ETB 32.5K

5.00%

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

$24.87 RSD 2,621

$7.50 ETB 1,205

231.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.64 RSD 3,650

$213 ETB 34.3K

-83.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.02 RSD 4,217

$44.97 ETB 7,231

-11.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.70 RSD 2,392

$36.87 ETB 5,929

-38.43%

Cinema Ticket

$8.02 RSD 845

$3.77 ETB 606

112.73%

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

$439 RSD 46.2K

$633 ETB 101.8K

-30.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K RSD 1.2M

$30.5K ETB 4.9M

-62.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 RSD 11.7K

$32.81 ETB 5,276

237.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 RSD 4,954

$69.5 ETB 11.2K

-32.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 RSD 11.9K

$77.5 ETB 12.5K

45.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 RSD 16.0K

$82.9 ETB 13.3K

83.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$806 RSD 84.9K

$707 ETB 113.7K

13.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$547 RSD 57.6K

$392 ETB 63.0K

39.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,551 RSD 163.4K

$2,299 ETB 369.7K

-32.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$982 RSD 103.4K

$774 ETB 124.4K

26.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,342 RSD 562.9K

$1,976 ETB 317.8K

170.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,117 RSD 328.4K

$1,025 ETB 164.9K

204.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,217 RSD 128.2K

$200 ETB 32.2K

507.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.61

18.5

-75.08%

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

Last update for Belgrade: October 26, 2026

Last update for Addis Ababa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Belgrade

$547 35.5%

Addis Ababa

$392 30.1% 28.4% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Belgrade

$272 17.6%

Addis Ababa

$423 32.5% 55.6% $151

Groceries & Markets

Belgrade

$240 15.6%

Addis Ababa

$213 16.4% 11.4% $28

Eating Out

Belgrade

$228 14.8%

Addis Ababa

$76 5.9% 66.5% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Belgrade

$190 12.3%

Addis Ababa

$118 9.1% 37.8% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Belgrade

$56 3.6%

Addis Ababa

$53 4% 6.3% $3.6

Getting Around

Belgrade

$8 * 0.5%

Addis Ababa

$26 2% 225% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $806 in Belgrade and $707 in Addis Ababa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Belgrade pays about 6.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $56 in Belgrade vs $43 in Addis Ababa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $240 vs $213 per month, with Addis Ababa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🇪🇹 Addis Ababa

🕒 Local time

05:57 5:57 AM

07:57 7:57 AM

2 h ahead of Belgrade

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,197,714 Capital

3,500,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Serbian Dinar RSD din

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.59 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD, EUR to RSD – Serbian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇸 Serbian Dinar (din)

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 105 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.49 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 179 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.59 EUR).

USD to RSD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Belgrade Addis Ababa 4,350 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Belgrade
Addis Ababa

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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,541 in Belgrade and $1,300 in Addis Ababa, so Addis Ababa is about 16% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Belgrade is about 6.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $806 in Belgrade versus $707 in Addis Ababa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Belgrade. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,541 per month in Belgrade versus $1,300 in Addis Ababa – Addis Ababa is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Addis Ababa gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Addis Ababa wins on affordability, Belgrade on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.