Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Mecca vs. Chisinau Cost of Living Summary

Mecca is 16.7% cheaper than Chisinau.

Restaurants: pay 49.1% less in Mecca
Groceries: pay 17.1% more in Mecca
Transportation: pay 11.0% less in Mecca
Housing: pay 31.4% less in Mecca
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Mecca
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.5% more in Mecca
Clothing: pay 57.5% less in Mecca

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

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Mecca vs. Chisinau Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mecca instead of Chisinau, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.1% less for restaurants

	Chisinau	Mecca
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.22 MDL201.58	$4.53 SAR17.00	-59.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 MDL156.22	$6.93 SAR26.00	-20.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.21 MDL21.71	$0.69 SAR2.60	-42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MDL16.00	$0.24 SAR0.90	-73.1%
Average			-49.1%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.1% more for groceries

	Chisinau	Mecca
Bread 1 loaf	$0.71 MDL12.77	$0.98 SAR3.67	+37.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.89 MDL87.82	$2.98 SAR11.17	-39.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 MDL85.03	$6.49 SAR24.37	+37.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.79 MDL50.06	$2.46 SAR9.23	-11.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.36 MDL42.34	$3.71 SAR13.92	+57.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.44 MDL7.87	$0.93 SAR3.48	+111.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.68	$0.73 SAR2.72	-16.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.94 MDL16.87	$0.71 SAR2.67	-24.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 MDL18.06	$0.68 SAR2.57	-31.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.61	$0.52 SAR1.95	+66.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 MDL4.42	$0.58 SAR2.17	+134.8%
Average			+17.1%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.0% less for transportation

	Chisinau	Mecca
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.44 MDL115.64	$2.35 SAR8.82	-63.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.52 MDL242.90	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,507.41 MDL530K	$47,965.95 SAR180K	+62.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.94 MDL88.69	$16.26 SAR61.00	+229.3%
Average			-11.0%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.4% less for housing

	Chisinau	Mecca
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.59 MDL190.33	$62.84 SAR235.84	+493.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	$524.96 SAR1,970.09	-22.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	$286.20 SAR1,074.05	-34.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	$50.94 SAR191.19	-72.6%
Average			-31.4%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Chisinau	Mecca
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	+75.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,841.67 MDL105K	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	+181.5%
Average			+122.1%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Chisinau	Mecca
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.24 MDL40.32	$1.53 SAR5.75	-31.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 MDL38.87	$2.60 SAR9.74	+20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.42 MDL61.48	$6.66 SAR25.00	+94.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 MDL748.71	$81.01 SAR304.01	+94.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 MDL151.18	$11.99 SAR45.00	+42.5%
Average			+32.5%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.5% less for clothing

	Chisinau	Mecca
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	$13.32 SAR50.00	-83.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.07 MDL845.61	$57.02 SAR214.00	+21.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	$39.97 SAR150.01	-65.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	$53.30 SAR200.01	-53.9%
Average			-57.5%

Chisinau vs. Mecca - 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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