Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 28.9% more expensive than Riyadh.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.4% more in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 8.2% more in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 7.0% less in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 35.2% more in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 32.9% more in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 95.9% more in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 7.4% less in Abu Dhabi
The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, childcare, and groceries in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Riyadh. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in Abu Dhabi. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Riyadh, you would:
pay 44.4% more for restaurants
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
SAR2.82
|
$1.29
AED4.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.29
SAR1.10
|
$0.44
AED1.61
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.2% more for groceries
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.31
SAR4.91
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.27
SAR16.00
|
$5.28
AED19.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.23
SAR23.37
|
$7.50
AED27.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.81
SAR10.53
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.67
SAR17.52
|
$4.12
AED15.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.03
SAR3.85
|
$1.15
AED4.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
SAR2.87
|
$0.82
AED3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.82
SAR3.07
|
$0.83
AED3.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
SAR2.63
|
$0.67
AED2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
SAR2.17
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.66
SAR2.48
|
$0.65
AED2.39
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 7.0% less for transportation
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.31
SAR8.65
|
$2.94
AED10.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.33
SAR140.01
|
$25.87
AED95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
|
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.40
SAR69.01
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 35.2% more for housing
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.49
SAR279.42
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
|
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$846.11
SAR3,173.60
|
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.07
SAR307.85
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 32.9% more for childcare
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$461.83
SAR1,732.23
|
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
|
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 95.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.87
SAR7.00
|
$11.29
AED41.45
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.10
SAR15.39
|
$5.77
AED21.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.33
SAR27.50
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$104.43
SAR391.70
|
$62.90
AED230.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.33
SAR57.50
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
Riyadh vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.4% less for clothing
|
Riyadh
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.01
SAR221.34
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$64.27
SAR241.07
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$110.52
SAR414.53
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$98.25
SAR368.53
|
$96.21
AED353.33
|
|
Riyadh 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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