Cost of living comparison

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

compared to

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 29.3% more expensive than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 32.6% more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 1.4% more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 6.2% less in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 33.2% more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 54.8% more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.3% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 13.0% more in Abu Dhabi

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

Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.6% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.39 SAR31.45	$10.89 AED40.00	+29.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR29.95	$9.53 AED35.00	+19.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 SAR2.86	$1.08 AED3.95	+41.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 SAR1.12	$0.42 AED1.53	+40.4%
Average			+32.6%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.4% more for groceries

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.24 SAR4.64	$1.37 AED5.03	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.91 SAR14.66	$4.80 AED17.63	+22.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 SAR24.91	$6.85 AED25.17	+3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.63 SAR9.88	$3.16 AED11.63	+20.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 SAR14.25	$3.61 AED13.25	-5.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 SAR3.88	$1.00 AED3.67	-3.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.94	$0.82 AED3.00	+4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 SAR3.07	$0.81 AED2.97	-1.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.83	$0.69 AED2.52	-9.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 SAR2.25	$0.50 AED1.83	-17.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.64 SAR2.41	$0.58 AED2.13	-9.6%
Average			+1.4%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.2% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.31 SAR8.67	$3.03 AED11.11	+30.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.27 SAR139.77	$24.50 AED90.00	-34.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,280.09 SAR124,796.53	$45,026.41 AED165,384.25	+35.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.70 SAR62.61	$7.23 AED26.56	-56.7%
Average			-6.2%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.2% more for housing

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.70 SAR280.10	$103.04 AED378.47	+37.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,116.87 SAR4,188.13	$1,349.31 AED4,956.07	+20.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$782.38 SAR2,933.85	$1,005.59 AED3,693.60	+28.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.80 SAR306.74	$119.02 AED437.15	+45.5%
Average			+33.2%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 54.8% more for childcare

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$360.22 SAR1,350.78	$669.40 AED2,458.73	+85.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,375.93 SAR38,908.56	$12,841.46 AED47,167.31	+23.8%
Average			+54.8%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR7.99	$10.89 AED40.00	+411.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.25 SAR15.94	$5.88 AED21.61	+38.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.45 SAR27.95	$6.13 AED22.50	-17.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.01 SAR378.79	$64.83 AED238.13	-35.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.97 SAR59.90	$13.61 AED50.00	-14.8%
Average			+76.3%

Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.0% more for clothing

	Riyadh	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.20 SAR195.76	$67.20 AED246.82	+28.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.44 SAR204.14	$62.59 AED229.91	+15.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$107.53 SAR403.22	$103.06 AED378.56	-4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.80 SAR336.72	$100.93 AED370.72	+12.4%
Average			+13.0%

Riyadh 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: March 2025

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