Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 10.8% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 34.7% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 19.7% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 2.9% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 27.2% less in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 22.1% less in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.0% less in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 6.3% more in Chisinau

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

Chisinau vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.7% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.00 SAR30.03	$8.95 MDL156.38	+12.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 SAR30.03	$7.76 MDL135.53	-3.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 SAR2.82	$0.87 MDL15.26	+16.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 SAR1.10	$0.62 MDL10.88	+113.4%
Average			+34.7%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.7% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.31 SAR4.91	$0.58 MDL10.12	-55.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.27 SAR16.02	$5.29 MDL92.30	+23.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.23 SAR23.39	$4.69 MDL81.96	-24.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 SAR10.54	$2.64 MDL46.07	-6.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.67 SAR17.54	$2.55 MDL44.49	-45.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 SAR3.86	$0.40 MDL7.05	-60.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 SAR2.87	$0.85 MDL14.80	+10.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 SAR3.07	$0.85 MDL14.90	+4.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 SAR2.63	$0.95 MDL16.60	+35.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 SAR2.18	$0.36 MDL6.26	-38.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.48	$0.26 MDL4.59	-60.3%
Average			-19.7%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.31 SAR8.65	$5.36 MDL93.66	+132.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.33 SAR140.12	$13.97 MDL243.95	-62.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,328.67 SAR125K	$31,402.03 MDL548K	-5.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.40 SAR69.06	$4.48 MDL78.19	-75.7%
Average			-2.9%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.2% less for housing

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.49 SAR279.64	$10.50 MDL183.43	-85.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,119.84 SAR4,203.67	$675.28 MDL11,792.25	-39.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$846.11 SAR3,176.12	$492.96 MDL8,608.46	-41.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.07 SAR308.09	$130.19 MDL2,273.52	+58.6%
Average			-27.2%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 22.1% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$461.83 SAR1,733.60	$407.06 MDL7,108.35	-11.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,810.75 SAR36,827.58	$6,644.14 MDL116K	-32.3%
Average			-22.1%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.87 SAR7.01	$1.79 MDL31.28	-4.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 SAR15.40	$1.85 MDL32.24	-55.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.33 SAR27.52	$3.34 MDL58.38	-54.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$104.43 SAR392.01	$39.44 MDL688.79	-62.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.33 SAR57.55	$7.76 MDL135.53	-49.4%
Average			-45.0%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.3% more for clothing

	Riyadh	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.01 SAR221.51	$66.56 MDL1,162.32	+12.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.27 SAR241.26	$53.80 MDL939.53	-16.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$110.52 SAR414.86	$115.49 MDL2,016.80	+4.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.25 SAR368.82	$122.07 MDL2,131.60	+24.2%
Average			+6.3%

Riyadh vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2026

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