Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spain and Ethiopia

Name: Ethiopia
Address: ET

For one person, living is cheaper in Ethiopia: $1,213 a month against $1,796 in Spain, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Spain
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Spain Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Ethiopia
Learn more

Ethiopia Living Index

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🇪🇸 Spain

$1,796

/mo nomad

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,213

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Spain and in Ethiopia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,796 in Spain versus $1,213 in Ethiopia.

Spain $1,796
Ethiopia $1,213

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,612 in Spain versus $1,828 in Ethiopia.

Spain $2,612
Ethiopia $1,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,429 in Spain versus $2,442 in Ethiopia.

Spain $3,429
Ethiopia $2,442

Internal cost variation is higher in Spain: monthly costs span $932 to $2,592, compared to $374–$1,306 in Ethiopia. City choice carries more weight in Spain.

Living in Spain is roughly 48% more expensive than in Ethiopia on average.

Spain (33% above) and Ethiopia (10% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.93 €15.08

$4.03 ETB 648

320.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.3 €50.2

$41.86 ETB 6,731

34.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 €10.08

$6.65 ETB 1,069

70.23%

Cappuccino

$2.42 €2.15

$0.88 ETB 142

175.00%

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

$2.55 €2.27

$0.61 ETB 97.8

318.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.60

$0.61 ETB 97.9

193.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 €2.98

$0.88 ETB 142

279.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 €3.59

$1.97 ETB 317

104.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.08 ETB 174

6.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 €1.31

$0.89 ETB 144

65.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.65 ETB 265

1.82%

Eggs

$3.43 €3.05

$1.88 ETB 302

82.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.11 €12.57

$7.51 ETB 1,207

87.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 €7.70

$10.51 ETB 1,690

-17.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.44 €14.65

$10.22 ETB 1,644

60.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 €2.25

$4.35 ETB 700

-41.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.82

$0.78 ETB 125

162.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.35 ETB 378

-13.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.46 €2.19

$0.64 ETB 102

284.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.66

$0.51 ETB 81.4

266.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.41 ETB 227

38.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 €1.22

$0.76 ETB 122

80.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 €0.66

$0.62 ETB 99.2

19.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.61 €5.89

$8.03 ETB 1,291

-17.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.52 €4.92

$5.17 ETB 831

6.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.79 ETB 127

62.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.86

$1.43 ETB 230

45.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 €1.46

$0.34 ETB 55.2

382.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.79 €29.21

$17.17 ETB 2,761

90.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 €3.48

$1.35 ETB 217

189.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.32 €1.17

$0.29 ETB 46.64

355.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.47 €23.58

$2.04 ETB 329

1197.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 €1.56

$0.93 ETB 150

88.17%

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

$34.9K €31.1K

$52.8K ETB 8.5M

-33.92%

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

$30.6K €27.3K

$56.0K ETB 9.0M

-45.36%

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

$146 €130

$144 ETB 23.1K

1.50%

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

$17.77 €15.83

$9.46 ETB 1,521

87.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.25 €28.73

$232 ETB 37.2K

-86.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 €40.02

$42.92 ETB 6,902

4.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.01 €13.37

$36.19 ETB 5,819

-58.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.36 €8.34

$5.10 ETB 821

83.53%

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

$564 €502

$629 ETB 101.1K

-10.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K €11.8K

$20.0K ETB 3.2M

-33.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 €75.1

$35.49 ETB 5,706

137.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.06 €33.02

$62.6 ETB 10.1K

-40.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 €81.2

$90.2 ETB 14.5K

1.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €95.9

$95.0 ETB 15.3K

13.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 €913

$652 ETB 104.9K

57.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$829 €739

$340 ETB 54.7K

143.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,462

$1,813 ETB 291.5K

-9.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 €1,097

$721 ETB 115.9K

70.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,131 €3,680

$1,830 ETB 294.3K

125.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,739 €2,440

$1,034 ETB 166.3K

164.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,012 €1,793

$212 ETB 34.1K

847.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

-80.59%

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

Last update for Spain: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ethiopia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Spain

$829 46.2%

Ethiopia

$340 28% 59% $489

Groceries & Markets

Spain

$272 15.2%

Ethiopia

$211 17.4% 22.7% $62

Eating Out

Spain

$241 13.4%

Ethiopia

$76 6.3% 68.4% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spain

$196 10.9%

Ethiopia

$385 31.7% 96.4% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Spain

$144 8%

Ethiopia

$127 10.5% 11.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Spain

$64 3.5%

Ethiopia

$53 4.4% 16.5% $11

Getting Around

Spain

$50 2.8%

Ethiopia

$21 1.8% 57.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $937 in Spain, $419 in Ethiopia. Capital cities: $1,525 in Madrid vs $698 in Addis Ababa.

National salary averages: $1,975 in Spain, $184 in Ethiopia. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 124% higher in Spain.

Dining out costs 33% more in Spain.

Public transport is 82% more expensive in Spain.

Salaries are about 11 times higher in Spain, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Spain.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Spain

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

05:33 5:33 AM

2 h ahead of Spain

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,415,750

128,691,692

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 181 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Spain Ethiopia 5,440 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Spain
Ethiopia

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

Spain vs Ethiopia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,213 per month in Ethiopia and $1,796 in Spain, Ethiopia comes out about 32% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Ethiopia: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $937 in Spain and $419 in Ethiopia. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Ethiopia, $1,500 covers most cities easily; in Spain it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: Ethiopia wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.