Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beirut vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Beirut is 11.5% more expensive than Riyadh.

Restaurants
pay 2.1 times more in Beirut
Groceries
pay 13.4% less in Beirut
Transportation
pay 38.6% more in Beirut
Housing
pay 15.0% less in Beirut
Childcare
pay 29.2% less in Beirut
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.4% less in Beirut
Clothing
pay 1.9% less in Beirut

The cost of restaurants and transportation in Beirut are more expensive than in Riyadh. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Beirut. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Beirut.

Beirut vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beirut instead of Riyadh, you would:

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.00
SAR30.00
$10.82
LBP966,418
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
SAR30.00
$8.00
LBP714,522
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.75
SAR2.82
$1.76
LBP156,798

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pay 13.4% less for groceries

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Bread
1 loaf
$1.31
SAR4.91
$0.75
LBP66,834
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.27
SAR16.00
$5.06
LBP452,159
Milk (1 gallon) $6.23
SAR23.37
$6.20
LBP553,696

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pay 38.6% more for transportation

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.31
SAR8.65
$3.51
LBP313,128
Monthly public transit pass $37.33
SAR140.01
$72.50
LBP6,475,359
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
$35,000.00
LBP3,126,035,607

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pay 15.0% less for housing

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$74.49
SAR279.42
$37.92
LBP3,387,111
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
$842.31
LBP75,230,967
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $846.11
SAR3,173.60
$372.22
LBP33,245,141

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pay 29.2% less for childcare

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $461.83
SAR1,732.23
$362.50
LBP32,376,797
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
$6,187.50
LBP552,638,438

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pay 8.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.87
SAR7.00
$4.00
LBP357,261
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.10
SAR15.39
$3.28
LBP293,366
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.33
SAR27.50
$2.55
LBP227,754

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pay 1.9% less for clothing

 
Riyadh
Beirut
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$59.01
SAR221.34
$59.38
LBP5,303,096
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.27
SAR241.07
$50.00
LBP4,465,765
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.52
SAR414.53
$120.56
LBP10,767,456

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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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