Cost of living comparison

compared to

Muscat vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Muscat is 76.7% more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 76.3% less in Muscat
Groceries
pay 7.9% more in Muscat
Transportation
pay 44.9% less in Muscat
Housing
pay 6.6 times more in Muscat
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in Muscat

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Muscat are more expensive than in Apia. Expenses including restaurants and transportation are lower in Muscat. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Muscat.

Muscat vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Muscat instead of Apia, you would:

pay 76.3% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Muscat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$5.20
OMR2.000
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$7.80
OMR3.000
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$0.88
OMR0.340

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pay 7.9% more for groceries

 
Apia
Muscat
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$1.21
OMR0.470
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$3.66
OMR1.410
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$8.79
OMR3.380

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pay 44.9% less for transportation

 
Apia
Muscat
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$2.35
OMR0.900
Monthly public transit pass ?? $78.03
OMR30.000
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $25,485.84
OMR9,799.330

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pay 6.6 times more for housing

 
Apia
Muscat
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$70.55
OMR27.130
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $680.91
OMR261.810
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $453.13
OMR174.230

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Muscat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $287.32
OMR110.480
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $10,536.61
OMR4,051.340

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Muscat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$13.00
OMR5.000
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$5.07
OMR1.950
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$6.50
OMR2.500

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Muscat
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $56.51
OMR21.730
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $43.24
OMR16.630
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $89.59
OMR34.450

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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