Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia vs. Kuwait Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 8.5% more expensive than Kuwait overall.

Restaurants: pay 10.9% less in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 17.9% more in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 39.6% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 6.0% less in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 48.3% more in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2% more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 15.3% more in Saudi Arabia

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

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Saudi Arabia vs. Kuwait Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Kuwait, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.9% less for restaurants

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 KWD2.580	$6.43 SAR24.14	-22.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.91 KWD2.460	$7.60 SAR28.52	-3.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KWD0.170	$0.77 SAR2.90	+40.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 KWD0.100	$0.25 SAR0.94	-18.4%
Average			-10.9%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.9% more for groceries

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 KWD0.340	$0.98 SAR3.69	-9.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.22 KWD0.690	$3.80 SAR14.24	+71.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.32 KWD1.660	$6.70 SAR25.15	+25.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$2.67 SAR10.00	+26.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KWD0.840	$3.42 SAR12.84	+26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 KWD0.340	$0.98 SAR3.66	-11.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 KWD0.250	$0.78 SAR2.93	-2.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 KWD0.210	$0.80 SAR2.99	+18.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$0.75 SAR2.81	+23.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 KWD0.160	$0.62 SAR2.31	+22.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 KWD0.150	$0.60 SAR2.27	+27.5%
Average			+17.9%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.6% more for transportation

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.25 KWD0.390	$2.35 SAR8.82	+88.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$51.95 KWD16.170	$35.96 SAR134.90	-30.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,021.80 KWD6,229.940	$44,549.24 SAR167K	+122.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.57 KWD9.200	$20.52 SAR76.98	-30.6%
Average			+39.6%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.0% less for housing

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.53 KWD9.500	$68.86 SAR258.35	+125.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$776.48 KWD241.610	$633.54 SAR2,376.96	-18.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$619.33 KWD192.710	$465.22 SAR1,745.44	-24.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.56 KWD12.310	$73.68 SAR276.44	+86.3%
Average			-6.0%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

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pay 48.3% more for childcare

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.54 KWD78.270	$419.94 SAR1,575.55	+66.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,500.38 KWD2,022.650	$8,565.65 SAR32,137.25	+31.8%
Average			+48.3%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.68 KWD0.830	$1.91 SAR7.17	-28.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.71 KWD1.470	$3.43 SAR12.86	-27.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$6.94 SAR26.04	+153.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$97.98 KWD30.490	$98.19 SAR368.38	+0.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.58 KWD3.600	$15.24 SAR57.18	+31.6%
Average			+3.2%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.3% more for clothing

	Kuwait	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.05 KWD11.530	$44.17 SAR165.71	+19.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.45 KWD11.650	$55.80 SAR209.37	+49.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.55 KWD29.730	$89.45 SAR335.60	-6.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.48 KWD21.930	$74.85 SAR280.82	+6.2%
Average			+15.3%

Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia - 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

Compare further: Kuwait vs. Saudi Arabia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 39.4% more likely to be unemployed in Saudi Arabia

Size Comparison · See true size

Kuwait is about 121 times smaller than Saudi Arabia.

Moving from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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