Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ashgabat vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Ashgabat is 71.5% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants
pay 2.0 times more in Ashgabat
Groceries
pay 2.5 times more in Ashgabat
Transportation
pay 21.5% less in Ashgabat
Housing
pay 55.5% more in Ashgabat
Childcare
pay 2.4% more in Ashgabat
Entertainment and Sports
pay 98.8% more in Ashgabat
Clothing
pay 2.1 times more in Ashgabat

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

Ashgabat vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.89
AED40.00
$34.29
TMT120.34
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.53
AED35.00
$13.57
TMT47.64
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.29
AED4.74
$2.32
TMT8.13

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pay 2.5 times more for groceries

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Bread
1 loaf
$1.60
AED5.89
$1.68
TMT5.89
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.28
AED19.39
$20.00
TMT70.20
Milk (1 gallon) $7.50
AED27.54
$18.21
TMT63.90

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pay 21.5% less for transportation

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.94
AED10.80
$1.62
TMT5.69
Monthly public transit pass $25.87
AED95.00
$8.57
TMT30.09
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $44,639.07
AED163,937.00
$43,928.57
TMT154,189.29

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pay 55.5% more for housing

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$100.96
AED370.79
$102.86
TMT361.03
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,490.68
AED5,474.52
$1,128.57
TMT3,961.29
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,109.19
AED4,073.48
$750.00
TMT2,632.50

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pay 2.4% more for childcare

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $625.43
AED2,296.88
$22.86
TMT80.23
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,786.81
AED46,959.57
$25,714.29
TMT90,257.14

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pay 98.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $11.29
AED41.45
$5.14
TMT18.05
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.77
AED21.18
$7.05
TMT24.75
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.26
AED23.00
$25.71
TMT90.26

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

 
Abu Dhabi
Ashgabat
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.62
AED222.62
$65.71
TMT230.66
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$51.93
AED190.71
$121.43
TMT426.21
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$98.09
AED360.23
$300.00
TMT1,053.00

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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: December 2025
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