Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Jeddah (Jiddah) is 30.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 20.8% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Groceries: pay 16.1% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Transportation: pay 28.5% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Housing: pay 58.4% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Childcare: pay 3.3% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.8% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Clothing: pay 1.4% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)

The cost of transportation, childcare, and clothing in Jeddah (Jiddah) are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Jeddah (Jiddah).

Planning a move to Saudi Arabia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jeddah (Jiddah) instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.8% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$6.13 SAR23.00	-25.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$8.53 SAR32.00	-10.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.99 SAR3.71	-14.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.25 SAR0.95	-38.9%
Average			-20.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.1% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.29 SAR4.85	-20.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$3.21 SAR12.04	-44.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$6.49 SAR24.37	-12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$2.46 SAR9.23	-29.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$3.71 SAR13.92	-15.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.94 SAR3.52	-16.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.78 SAR2.92	-17.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.71 SAR2.67	-15.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.75 SAR2.81	+6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.52 SAR1.95	-5.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.58 SAR2.17	+8.3%
Average			-16.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$2.35 SAR8.82	-35.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$54.69 SAR205.26	+106.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$47,965.95 SAR180K	+60.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$17.05 SAR64.00	+123.7%
Average			+28.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 58.4% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$67.53 SAR253.45	-23.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$796.91 SAR2,990.68	-59.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$530.19 SAR1,989.73	-62.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$68.97 SAR258.83	-53.4%
Average			-58.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.3% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	-3.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	+11.0%
Average			+3.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$2.40 SAR9.00	-79.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.79 SAR14.23	-36.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$6.66 SAR25.00	-0.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$79.20 SAR297.24	-16.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$11.99 SAR45.00	-19.9%
Average			-39.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.4% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$73.80 SAR276.94	+20.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$57.02 SAR214.00	+16.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$99.59 SAR373.73	-10.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$93.64 SAR351.41	-15.0%
Average			+1.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah)

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Jeddah (Jiddah)?

More cost comparisons

Abu Dhabi vs.

Toronto

Abu Dhabi vs.

Madrid

Abu Dhabi vs.

Dublin

Abu Dhabi vs.

Lima

Abu Dhabi vs.

Reykjavik

Abu Dhabi vs.

Vienna

Abu Dhabi vs.

Warsaw

Abu Dhabi vs.

Rome

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Abu Dhabi

Add prices for Jeddah (Jiddah)

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Jeddah (Jiddah) or Abu Dhabi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.