Cost of living comparison
compared to
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
Riyadh is 6.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.5% less in Riyadh
- Groceries
-
pay 6.1% less in Riyadh
- Transportation
-
pay 34.7% more in Riyadh
- Housing
-
pay 26.0% less in Riyadh
- Childcare
-
pay 24.8% less in Riyadh
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.3% less in Riyadh
- Clothing
-
pay 9.0% more in Riyadh
The cost of transportation and clothing in Riyadh are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Riyadh.
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Riyadh instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 29.5% less for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$0.75
SAR2.82
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$0.29
SAR1.10
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.1% less for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$1.31
SAR4.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$4.27
SAR16.00
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$6.23
SAR23.37
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$2.81
SAR10.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$4.67
SAR17.52
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$1.03
SAR3.85
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$0.76
SAR2.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$0.82
SAR3.07
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$0.70
SAR2.63
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$0.58
SAR2.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$0.66
SAR2.48
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries
pay 34.7% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$2.31
SAR8.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$37.33
SAR140.01
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
$33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
$18.40
SAR69.01
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation
pay 26.0% less for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$74.49
SAR279.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
$1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$846.11
SAR3,173.60
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$82.07
SAR307.85
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing
pay 24.8% less for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$461.83
SAR1,732.23
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare
pay 3.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$1.87
SAR7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$4.10
SAR15.39
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$7.33
SAR27.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$104.43
SAR391.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$15.33
SAR57.50
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.0% more for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Riyadh
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
$59.01
SAR221.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
$64.27
SAR241.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
$110.52
SAR414.53
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
$98.25
SAR368.53
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh - 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
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