Cost of living comparison

compared to

Riyadh vs. Damascus Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 2.9 times more expensive than Damascus.

Restaurants: pay 13.7% more in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 81.1% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 41.4% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 6.9 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.1 times more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Riyadh

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, groceries, and transportation in Riyadh are more expensive than in Damascus. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Riyadh.

Riyadh vs. Damascus Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Damascus, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.7% more for restaurants

	Damascus	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.00 SYP65,010	$8.39 SAR31.48	+67.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 SYP65,010	$7.99 SAR29.98	+59.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.05 SYP13,652	$0.76 SAR2.86	-27.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 SYP7,086	$0.30 SAR1.12	-45.4%
Average			+13.7%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.1% more for groceries

	Damascus	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.63 SYP8,217	$1.24 SAR4.65	+95.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.67 SYP21,752	$3.91 SAR14.68	+133.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.05 SYP52,594	$6.64 SAR24.94	+64.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 SYP25,571	$2.63 SAR9.89	+34.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.01 SYP39,106	$3.80 SAR14.26	+26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.46 SYP5,918	$1.03 SAR3.88	+127.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 SYP12,544	$0.78 SAR2.95	-18.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 SYP5,963	$0.82 SAR3.07	+78.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.39 SYP5,065	$0.76 SAR2.84	+94.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.27 SYP3,476	$0.60 SAR2.25	+124.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 SYP3,593	$0.64 SAR2.41	+132.7%
Average			+81.1%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.4% more for transportation

	Damascus	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$15.92 SYP207,051	$2.31 SAR8.68	-85.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.00 SYP221,034	$37.27 SAR139.92	+119.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,500.00 SYP240,537,000	$33,280.09 SAR124,926.35	+79.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.00 SYP143,022	$16.70 SAR62.67	+51.8%
Average			+41.4%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Damascus	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.75 SYP867,884	$74.70 SAR280.40	+11.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$282.23 SYP3,669,607	$1,116.87 SAR4,192.49	+295.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$145.72 SYP1,894,661	$782.38 SAR2,936.90	+436.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.53 SYP695,989	$81.80 SAR307.06	+52.8%
Average			+199.3%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 6.9 times more for childcare

	Damascus	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$48.33 SYP628,430	$360.22 SAR1,352.19	+645.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,650.00 SYP21,453,300	$10,375.93 SAR38,949.04	+528.8%
Average			+587.0%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Damascus	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.25 SYP16,252	$2.13 SAR8.00	+70.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.27 SYP16,578	$4.25 SAR15.95	+233.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.00 SYP39,006	$7.45 SAR27.98	+148.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.30 SYP172,927	$101.01 SAR379.18	+659.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.00 SYP39,006	$15.97 SAR59.96	+432.5%
Average			+308.8%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Damascus	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.00 SYP286,044	$52.20 SAR195.96	+137.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.50 SYP305,547	$54.44 SAR204.36	+131.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$47.50 SYP617,595	$107.53 SAR403.64	+126.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.25 SYP731,362	$89.80 SAR337.07	+59.6%
Average			+113.8%

Damascus vs. Riyadh - 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: January 2025

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