Cost of living comparison
compared to
Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
Kuwait City is 17.4% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.3% less in Kuwait City
- Groceries
-
pay 11.8% less in Kuwait City
- Transportation
-
pay 43.8% more in Kuwait City
- Housing
-
pay 50.0% less in Kuwait City
- Childcare
-
pay 46.4% less in Kuwait City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.7% less in Kuwait City
- Clothing
-
pay 24.5% less in Kuwait City
Expenses including housing, childcare, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Kuwait City.
Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Kuwait City instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 19.3% less for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$11.45
KWD3.510
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$9.48
KWD2.910
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$0.56
KWD0.170
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$0.33
KWD0.100
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.8% less for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$1.32
KWD0.410
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$2.68
KWD0.820
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$5.98
KWD1.840
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$1.95
KWD0.600
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$3.21
KWD0.980
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$1.06
KWD0.320
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$0.88
KWD0.270
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$0.77
KWD0.240
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$0.78
KWD0.240
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$0.60
KWD0.180
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$0.68
KWD0.210
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of groceries
pay 43.8% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$1.35
KWD0.420
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$44.15
KWD13.550
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
$21,257.11
KWD6,525.510
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
$23.71
KWD7.280
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of transportation
pay 50.0% less for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$29.07
KWD8.920
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
$923.87
KWD283.610
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$704.38
KWD216.230
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$52.86
KWD16.230
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of housing
pay 46.4% less for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$306.59
KWD94.120
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$7,442.33
KWD2,284.650
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of childcare
pay 13.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$3.27
KWD1.000
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$5.74
KWD1.760
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$2.94
KWD0.900
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$108.17
KWD33.210
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$11.45
KWD3.510
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.5% less for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Kuwait City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
$39.65
KWD12.170
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
$38.70
KWD11.880
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
$85.03
KWD26.100
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
$72.67
KWD22.310
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Kuwait.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kuwait City 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.