Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 30.1% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 61.0% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 54.7% less in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 56.8% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 33.8% less in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.9% less in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 47.6% less in Riyadh

The cost of childcare and transportation in Riyadh are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Riyadh. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Riyadh.

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Riyadh vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.0% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.31	$7.99 SAR30.00	-74.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.13	$7.99 SAR30.00	-37.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.52	$0.87 SAR3.28	-44.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.01	$0.31 SAR1.18	-63.4%
Average			-61.0%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.7% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.15	$1.29 SAR4.83	-36.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT66.06	$5.27 SAR19.78	-72.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.98	$6.76 SAR25.39	-60.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.06	$3.08 SAR11.57	-48.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.84	$4.34 SAR16.27	-52.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.07	$1.30 SAR4.88	-43.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.49	$0.87 SAR3.28	-77.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.94	$1.13 SAR4.23	-66.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.87	$0.80 SAR2.99	-52.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.64	$0.54 SAR2.04	-47.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.59 SAR2.21	-9.1%
Average			-54.7%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.8% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$2.35 SAR8.82	+44.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.10	$37.31 SAR140.01	+273.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$34,642.08 SAR130K	-21.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	$18.12 SAR68.00	+86.5%
Average			+56.8%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.8% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$71.73 SAR269.20	-30.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,964.14	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	-16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,510.00	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	-16.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$81.86 SAR307.20	-81.3%
Average			-33.8%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	+2222.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT87,073.07	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	-59.3%
Average			+207.6%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.06	$2.13 SAR8.00	-62.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.82	$4.28 SAR16.07	-36.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$7.73 SAR29.00	-69.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$89.94 SAR337.52	-53.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.09	$13.32 SAR50.00	+55.4%
Average			-38.9%

Ashgabat vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.6% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.56	$58.30 SAR218.78	+4.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT401.14	$54.26 SAR203.65	-52.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,278.64	$102.59 SAR385.02	-71.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT676.93	$103.93 SAR390.02	-46.1%
Average			-47.6%

Ashgabat 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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