Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 53.7% more expensive than Kuwait City.

Restaurants: pay 9.6% less in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 19.7% more in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 20.1% more in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.1% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 30.4% more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and groceries in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Kuwait City. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

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Abu Dhabi vs. Kuwait City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Kuwait City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.6% less for restaurants

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.89 KWD3.980	$8.17 AED30.00	-36.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.86 KWD2.740	$9.53 AED35.00	+7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 KWD0.220	$1.15 AED4.24	+59.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 KWD0.090	$0.42 AED1.53	+37.7%
Average			-9.6%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.7% more for groceries

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 KWD0.460	$1.62 AED5.94	+7.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 KWD0.670	$5.81 AED21.35	+166.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 KWD1.880	$7.38 AED27.10	+21.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$3.49 AED12.81	+66.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.02 KWD0.930	$4.40 AED16.16	+45.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 KWD0.340	$1.12 AED4.13	+1.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 KWD0.270	$0.95 AED3.48	+10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KWD0.250	$0.84 AED3.09	+2.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 KWD0.210	$0.71 AED2.60	+3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$0.55 AED2.03	-9.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 KWD0.200	$0.53 AED1.96	-19.3%
Average			+19.7%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.1% more for transportation

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.28 KWD0.400	$3.63 AED13.32	+183.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.33 KWD14.940	$26.55 AED97.49	-45.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,942.34 KWD6,474.120	$29,949.09 AED110K	+43.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.61 KWD9.460	$7.62 AED28.00	-75.1%
Average			+20.1%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.92 KWD9.250	$88.30 AED324.28	+195.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$924.68 KWD285.860	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	+112.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$635.52 KWD196.460	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	+120.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.13 KWD15.500	$148.00 AED543.52	+195.2%
Average			+130.3%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.37 KWD92.550	$790.93 AED2,904.68	+164.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,387.00 KWD2,901.900	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	+57.9%
Average			+104.2%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.22 KWD1.000	$11.57 AED42.50	+259.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 KWD1.610	$5.96 AED21.87	+14.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$6.67 AED24.50	+143.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$122.83 KWD37.970	$95.29 AED349.96	-22.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 KWD3.490	$14.97 AED54.99	+32.8%
Average			+46.1%

Kuwait City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.4% more for clothing

	Kuwait City	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.59 KWD11.620	$61.46 AED225.73	+63.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.47 KWD12.200	$49.09 AED180.30	+24.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.66 KWD30.190	$111.63 AED409.96	+14.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.60 KWD27.390	$110.14 AED404.50	+24.3%
Average			+30.4%

Kuwait City 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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