Cost of living comparison

compared to

Riyadh vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 50.8% more expensive than Harare.

Restaurants
pay 3.4% less in Riyadh
Groceries
pay 10.8% more in Riyadh
Transportation
pay 30.9% less in Riyadh
Housing
pay 2.6 times more in Riyadh
Childcare
pay 20.2% more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports
pay 72.0% more in Riyadh
Clothing
pay 2.6 times more in Riyadh

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

Riyadh vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.4% less for restaurants

 
Harare
Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.00
ZWL3,220.00
$7.99
SAR30.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.75
ZWL1,851.50
$7.99
SAR30.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.96
ZWL308.58
$0.87
SAR3.28

Improve prices ·

pay 10.8% more for groceries

 
Harare
Riyadh
Bread
1 loaf
$1.00
ZWL322.00
$1.29
SAR4.83
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.73
ZWL1,845.30
$5.27
SAR19.78
Milk (1 gallon) $5.73
ZWL1,843.59
$6.76
SAR25.39

Improve prices ·

pay 30.9% less for transportation

 
Harare
Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.91
ZWL2,223.82
$2.35
SAR8.82
Monthly public transit pass $60.00
ZWL19,320.00
$37.31
SAR140.01
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $22,000.00
ZWL7M
$34,642.08
SAR130K

Improve prices ·

pay 2.6 times more for housing

 
Harare
Riyadh
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.99
ZWL22,213.67
$71.73
SAR269.20
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $390.00
ZWL126K
$1,186.87
SAR4,454.14
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $316.60
ZWL102K
$833.69
SAR3,128.72

Improve prices ·

pay 20.2% more for childcare

 
Harare
Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $433.79
ZWL140K
$530.73
SAR1,991.76
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,555.56
ZWL3M
$10,105.80
SAR37,925.40

Improve prices ·

pay 72.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Harare
Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.25
ZWL402.50
$2.13
SAR8.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.00
ZWL966.00
$4.28
SAR16.07
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.00
ZWL644.00
$7.73
SAR29.00

Improve prices ·

pay 2.6 times more for clothing

 
Harare
Riyadh
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$23.22
ZWL7,477.56
$58.30
SAR218.78
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$21.15
ZWL6,809.04
$54.26
SAR203.65
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$38.68
ZWL12,453.92
$102.59
SAR385.02

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zimbabwe vs. Saudi Arabia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Riyadh or Harare. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.