Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 21.3% more expensive than Kuwait City.

Restaurants: pay 20.4% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 19.8% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 27.9% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 38.5% more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 38.2% more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.3% less in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 27.3% more in Riyadh

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

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Riyadh vs. Kuwait City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Kuwait City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.4% less for restaurants

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.89 KWD4.010	$7.99 SAR29.99	-38.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.86 KWD2.760	$7.99 SAR29.99	-9.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 KWD0.230	$0.87 SAR3.28	+20.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 KWD0.090	$0.31 SAR1.18	+3.8%
Average			-20.4%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.8% more for groceries

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 KWD0.470	$1.29 SAR4.83	-14.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 KWD0.680	$5.27 SAR19.77	+141.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 KWD1.890	$6.76 SAR25.38	+11.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$3.08 SAR11.57	+47.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.02 KWD0.940	$4.34 SAR16.27	+43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 KWD0.350	$1.30 SAR4.88	+16.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 KWD0.270	$0.87 SAR3.28	+1.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KWD0.260	$1.13 SAR4.23	+36.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 KWD0.210	$0.80 SAR2.99	+15.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$0.54 SAR2.04	-10.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 KWD0.210	$0.59 SAR2.21	-10.8%
Average			+19.8%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.9% more for transportation

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.28 KWD0.400	$2.35 SAR8.81	+83.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.33 KWD15.040	$37.31 SAR139.97	-22.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,942.34 KWD6,516.380	$34,642.08 SAR130K	+65.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.61 KWD9.520	$18.12 SAR67.99	-40.8%
Average			+27.9%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.5% more for housing

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.92 KWD9.310	$71.73 SAR269.13	+139.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$924.68 KWD287.720	$1,186.87 SAR4,453.00	+28.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$635.52 KWD197.750	$833.69 SAR3,127.91	+31.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.13 KWD15.600	$81.86 SAR307.12	+63.3%
Average			+38.5%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 38.2% more for childcare

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.37 KWD93.150	$530.73 SAR1,991.25	+77.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,387.00 KWD2,920.840	$10,105.80 SAR37,915.67	+7.7%
Average			+38.2%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.22 KWD1.000	$2.13 SAR8.00	-33.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 KWD1.620	$4.28 SAR16.06	-17.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$7.73 SAR28.99	+182.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$122.83 KWD38.220	$89.94 SAR337.43	-26.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 KWD3.510	$13.32 SAR49.99	+18.2%
Average			-5.3%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.3% more for clothing

	Kuwait City	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.59 KWD11.700	$58.30 SAR218.72	+55.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.47 KWD12.280	$54.26 SAR203.59	+37.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.66 KWD30.390	$102.59 SAR384.92	+5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.60 KWD27.570	$103.93 SAR389.92	+17.3%
Average			+27.3%

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh - 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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