Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Al Ain vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Al Ain is 9.7% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 2.4% more in Al Ain
Groceries: pay 5.1% less in Al Ain
Transportation: pay 11.5% less in Al Ain
Housing: pay 17.8% less in Al Ain
Childcare: pay 10.4% less in Al Ain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.1% more in Al Ain
Clothing: pay 17.6% less in Al Ain

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

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Al Ain vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Al Ain instead of Riyadh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR30.00	$8.17 AED30.00	+2.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR30.00	$8.58 AED31.50	+7.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.72 AED2.65	-17.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.34 AED1.25	+8.6%
Average			+2.4%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.1% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.83	$1.62 AED5.94	+25.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.78	$4.76 AED17.50	-9.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.39	$6.79 AED24.92	+0.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.57	$2.83 AED10.39	-8.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.27	$4.40 AED16.16	+1.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$1.12 AED4.13	-13.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.92 AED3.38	+5.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$0.84 AED3.09	-25.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$0.71 AED2.60	-11.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$0.52 AED1.93	-3.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$0.53 AED1.96	-9.5%
Average			-5.1%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.5% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$3.37 AED12.37	+43.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR140.01	$24.50 AED89.99	-34.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$29,949.09 AED110K	-13.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR68.00	$6.67 AED24.50	-63.2%
Average			-11.5%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.8% less for housing

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.20	$88.30 AED324.28	+23.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	$707.89 AED2,599.72	-40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	$816.48 AED2,998.51	-2.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.20	$86.71 AED318.46	+5.9%
Average			-17.8%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of housing

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pay 10.4% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	$571.30 AED2,098.11	+7.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	$7,532.65 AED27,663.65	-25.5%
Average			-10.4%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$8.17 AED30.00	+283.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.07	$4.67 AED17.16	+9.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$6.26 AED23.00	-19.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.52	$57.29 AED210.39	-36.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR50.00	$13.61 AED49.99	+2.2%
Average			+17.1%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.6% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Al Ain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.78	$44.24 AED162.48	-24.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.65	$49.09 AED180.30	-9.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR385.02	$70.11 AED257.47	-31.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR390.02	$102.10 AED374.96	-1.8%
Average			-17.6%

Riyadh vs. Al Ain - 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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