Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

Oman

Muscat vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Muscat is 27.2% more expensive than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 15.6% more in Muscat
Groceries: pay 10.7% less in Muscat
Transportation: pay 3.1 times more in Muscat
Housing: pay 13.3% more in Muscat
Childcare: pay 19.8% more in Muscat
Entertainment and Sports: pay 78.9% more in Muscat
Clothing: pay 22.3% less in Muscat

The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and housing in Muscat are more expensive than in Bandar Seri Begawan. Expenses including clothing and groceries are lower in Muscat. Notably, transportation and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Muscat.

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Muscat vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Muscat instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 15.6% more for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.91 BND5.00	$5.20 OMR1.990	+33.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 BND7.91	$7.80 OMR2.980	+26.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 BND1.18	$0.88 OMR0.340	-5.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 BND0.66	$0.28 OMR0.110	-45.4%
Average			+15.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.7% less for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Bread 1 loaf	$1.72 BND2.20	$1.21 OMR0.460	-29.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.69 BND6.01	$3.66 OMR1.400	-21.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.05 BND9.03	$8.79 OMR3.360	+24.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.04 BND2.62	$2.98 OMR1.140	+46.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 BND2.61	$3.17 OMR1.210	+55.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 BND1.82	$1.63 OMR0.620	+15.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 BND1.27	$0.90 OMR0.340	-9.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 BND1.70	$1.08 OMR0.410	-18.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 BND1.48	$0.58 OMR0.220	-49.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 BND0.99	$0.54 OMR0.210	-29.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 BND1.19	$0.57 OMR0.220	-38.5%
Average			-10.7%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1 times more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.55 BND1.99	$2.35 OMR0.900	+51.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$0.78 BND1.00	$78.03 OMR29.840	+9889.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,965.55 BND55,045.14	$25,485.84 OMR9,746.120	-40.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.47 BND39.03	$24.06 OMR9.200	-21.0%
Average			+205.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.3% more for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.10 BND83.40	$70.55 OMR26.980	+8.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$720.60 BND923.19	$680.91 OMR260.390	-5.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$473.37 BND606.46	$453.13 OMR173.280	-4.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.90 BND60.08	$136.85 OMR52.330	+191.8%
Average			+13.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of housing

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pay 19.8% more for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.79 BND277.73	$287.32 OMR109.880	+32.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,724.87 BND12,458.98	$10,536.61 OMR4,029.340	+8.3%
Average			+19.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of childcare

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pay 78.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 BND2.50	$13.00 OMR4.970	+565.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 BND5.00	$5.07 OMR1.940	+29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.63 BND20.02	$6.50 OMR2.480	-58.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.57 BND58.38	$62.02 OMR23.720	+36.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.47 BND7.00	$10.40 OMR3.980	+90.3%
Average			+78.9%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.3% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Muscat
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$76.16 BND97.58	$56.51 OMR21.610	-25.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$93.73 BND120.08	$43.24 OMR16.540	-53.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.14 BND130.86	$89.59 OMR34.260	-12.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.26 BND92.58	$87.56 OMR33.480	+21.2%
Average			-22.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Muscat - 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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