Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 47.0% more expensive than Muscat.
- Restaurants
-
pay 45.5% more in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 31.4% more in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 11.3% more in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 2.0 times more in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.4% more in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 12.2% more in Abu Dhabi
The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Muscat. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Muscat, you would:
pay 45.5% more for restaurants
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.20
OMR2.000
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.80
OMR3.000
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.15
OMR0.440
|
$1.29
AED4.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.32
OMR0.120
|
$0.44
AED1.61
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.4% more for groceries
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.24
OMR0.480
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.93
OMR0.740
|
$5.28
AED19.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.45
OMR2.860
|
$7.50
AED27.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.60
OMR1.000
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.65
OMR1.020
|
$4.12
AED15.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
OMR0.490
|
$1.15
AED4.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
OMR0.300
|
$0.82
AED3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.91
OMR0.350
|
$0.83
AED3.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.54
OMR0.210
|
$0.67
AED2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.47
OMR0.180
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
OMR0.200
|
$0.65
AED2.39
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 11.3% more for transportation
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.34
OMR0.900
|
$2.94
AED10.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.02
OMR25.000
|
$25.87
AED95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,757.06
OMR8,750.090
|
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.10
OMR3.500
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0 times more for housing
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.79
OMR26.450
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$612.96
OMR235.680
|
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$395.21
OMR151.960
|
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$84.88
OMR32.640
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$198.66
OMR76.390
|
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,973.98
OMR4,219.490
|
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 11.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.00
OMR5.000
|
$11.29
AED41.45
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.77
OMR1.840
|
$5.77
AED21.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.50
OMR2.500
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.56
OMR19.820
|
$62.90
AED230.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.40
OMR4.000
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.2% more for clothing
|
Muscat
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.30
OMR22.800
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.90
OMR16.110
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$82.36
OMR31.670
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$93.05
OMR35.780
|
$96.21
AED353.33
|
|
Muscat vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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