Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 44.2% more expensive than Jeddah (Jiddah).

Restaurants: pay 26.2% more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 19.2% more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 22.2% less in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 3.2% less in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.0% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 1.4% less in Abu Dhabi

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Jeddah (Jiddah). Expenses including transportation, childcare, and clothing are lower in Abu Dhabi. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

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Abu Dhabi vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Jeddah (Jiddah), you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.2% more for restaurants

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.13 SAR23.00	$8.17 AED30.00	+33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.53 SAR32.00	$9.53 AED35.00	+11.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.99 SAR3.71	$1.15 AED4.24	+16.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 SAR0.95	$0.42 AED1.53	+63.6%
Average			+26.2%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.2% more for groceries

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.85	$1.62 AED5.94	+25.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.21 SAR12.04	$5.81 AED21.35	+81.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.49 SAR24.37	$7.38 AED27.10	+13.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 SAR9.23	$3.49 AED12.81	+41.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 SAR13.92	$4.40 AED16.16	+18.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.94 SAR3.52	$1.12 AED4.13	+19.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.92	$0.95 AED3.48	+21.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.71 SAR2.67	$0.84 AED3.09	+18.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 SAR2.81	$0.71 AED2.60	-5.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 SAR1.95	$0.55 AED2.03	+6.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 SAR2.17	$0.53 AED1.96	-7.7%
Average			+19.2%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.2% less for transportation

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$3.63 AED13.32	+54.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.69 SAR205.26	$26.55 AED97.49	-51.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$47,965.95 SAR180K	$29,949.09 AED110K	-37.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.05 SAR64.00	$7.62 AED28.00	-55.3%
Average			-22.2%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$67.53 SAR253.45	$88.30 AED324.28	+30.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$796.91 SAR2,990.68	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	+146.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.19 SAR1,989.73	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	+164.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.97 SAR258.83	$148.00 AED543.52	+114.6%
Average			+140.5%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2% less for childcare

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	$790.93 AED2,904.68	+4.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	-9.9%
Average			-3.2%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.40 SAR9.00	$11.57 AED42.50	+382.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.79 SAR14.23	$5.96 AED21.87	+57.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.66 SAR25.00	$6.67 AED24.50	+0.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$79.20 SAR297.24	$95.29 AED349.96	+20.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.99 SAR45.00	$14.97 AED54.99	+24.9%
Average			+66.0%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.4% less for clothing

	Jeddah (Jiddah)	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.80 SAR276.94	$61.46 AED225.73	-16.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.02 SAR214.00	$49.09 AED180.30	-13.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.59 SAR373.73	$111.63 AED409.96	+12.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.64 SAR351.41	$110.14 AED404.50	+17.6%
Average			-1.4%

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Abu Dhabi - 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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