Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Al Ain Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 10.7% more expensive than Al Ain.

Restaurants: pay 2.3% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 5.4% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 13.0% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 21.7% more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 11.6% more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.6% less in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 21.4% more in Riyadh

The cost of housing, clothing, transportation, childcare, and groceries in Riyadh are more expensive than in Al Ain. Expenses including entertainment and sports and restaurants are lower in Riyadh.

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Riyadh vs. Al Ain Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Al Ain, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3% less for restaurants

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$7.99 SAR30.00	-2.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 AED31.50	$7.99 SAR30.00	-6.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 AED2.65	$0.87 SAR3.28	+21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 AED1.25	$0.31 SAR1.18	-7.9%
Average			-2.3%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.4% more for groceries

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.29 SAR4.83	-20.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.76 AED17.50	$5.27 SAR19.78	+10.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 AED24.92	$6.76 SAR25.39	-0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.83 AED10.39	$3.08 SAR11.57	+9.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$4.34 SAR16.27	-1.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.30 SAR4.88	+15.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 AED3.38	$0.87 SAR3.28	-5.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.13 SAR4.23	+33.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.80 SAR2.99	+12.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.93	$0.54 SAR2.04	+3.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.59 SAR2.21	+10.5%
Average			+5.4%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.0% more for transportation

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.37 AED12.37	$2.35 SAR8.82	-30.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.50 AED89.99	$37.31 SAR140.01	+52.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$34,642.08 SAR130K	+15.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.67 AED24.50	$18.12 SAR68.00	+171.7%
Average			+13.0%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.7% more for housing

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$71.73 SAR269.20	-18.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$707.89 AED2,599.72	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	+67.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$816.48 AED2,998.51	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	+2.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.71 AED318.46	$81.86 SAR307.20	-5.6%
Average			+21.7%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 11.6% more for childcare

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$571.30 AED2,098.11	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	-7.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,532.65 AED27,663.65	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	+34.2%
Average			+11.6%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.17 AED30.00	$2.13 SAR8.00	-73.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.67 AED17.16	$4.28 SAR16.07	-8.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.26 AED23.00	$7.73 SAR29.00	+23.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.29 AED210.39	$89.94 SAR337.52	+57.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED49.99	$13.32 SAR50.00	-2.1%
Average			-14.6%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.4% more for clothing

	Al Ain	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.24 AED162.48	$58.30 SAR218.78	+31.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$54.26 SAR203.65	+10.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.11 AED257.47	$102.59 SAR385.02	+46.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.10 AED374.96	$103.93 SAR390.02	+1.8%
Average			+21.4%

Al Ain vs. Riyadh - Cost of clothing

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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

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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.

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