Cost of living comparison

Manama, Bahrain

compared to

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Manama Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 29.3% more expensive than Manama.

Restaurants: pay 34.4% more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 13.4% more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 10.6% less in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 86.1% more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 55.8% more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.9% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 13.2% more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Manama. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi vs. Manama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Manama, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 34.4% more for restaurants

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.86 BHD2.580	$10.89 AED40.00	+58.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.12 BHD2.680	$9.53 AED35.00	+33.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 BHD0.320	$1.08 AED3.95	+26.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 BHD0.130	$0.42 AED1.53	+18.8%
Average			+34.4%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.4% more for groceries

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.42 BHD0.530	$1.37 AED5.03	-3.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.72 BHD1.400	$4.80 AED17.63	+29.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.73 BHD2.540	$6.85 AED25.17	+1.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.62 BHD0.990	$3.16 AED11.63	+20.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.01 BHD1.130	$3.61 AED13.25	+19.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.06 BHD0.400	$1.00 AED3.67	-5.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 BHD0.350	$0.82 AED3.00	-12.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.78 BHD0.290	$0.81 AED2.97	+3.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 BHD0.200	$0.69 AED2.52	+29.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BHD0.140	$0.50 AED1.83	+35.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 BHD0.170	$0.58 AED2.13	+30.3%
Average			+13.4%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% less for transportation

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.07 BHD0.780	$3.03 AED11.11	+45.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.28 BHD12.910	$24.50 AED90.00	-28.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,920.22 BHD13,905.930	$45,026.41 AED165,383.35	+22.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$39.43 BHD14.850	$7.23 AED26.56	-81.7%
Average			-10.6%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 86.1% more for housing

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$40.00 BHD15.060	$103.04 AED378.47	+157.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$765.66 BHD288.380	$1,349.31 AED4,956.04	+76.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$540.84 BHD203.710	$1,005.59 AED3,693.58	+85.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.46 BHD35.950	$119.02 AED437.15	+24.7%
Average			+86.1%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 55.8% more for childcare

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$364.26 BHD137.200	$669.40 AED2,458.72	+83.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,054.17 BHD3,786.880	$12,841.46 AED47,167.05	+27.7%
Average			+55.8%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00 BHD3.010	$10.89 AED40.00	+36.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.38 BHD2.030	$5.88 AED21.61	+9.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.46 BHD2.430	$6.13 AED22.50	-5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.98 BHD25.600	$64.83 AED238.13	-4.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.55 BHD3.970	$13.61 AED50.00	+29.0%
Average			+12.9%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.2% more for clothing

	Manama	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.67 BHD18.710	$67.20 AED246.82	+35.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$72.52 BHD27.320	$62.59 AED229.91	-13.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.71 BHD32.280	$103.06 AED378.55	+20.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.98 BHD34.270	$100.93 AED370.72	+10.9%
Average			+13.2%

Manama vs. Abu Dhabi - 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: April 2025

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