Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Botswana

Gaborone vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 45.0% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 3.4% more in Gaborone
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in Gaborone
Transportation: pay 6.7% more in Gaborone
Housing: pay 67.6% less in Gaborone
Childcare: pay 75.7% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.9% less in Gaborone
Clothing: pay 39.5% less in Gaborone

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

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Gaborone vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.4% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR30.00	$10.85 BWP148.87	+35.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR30.00	$5.79 BWP79.40	-27.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.72 BWP9.92	-17.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.42 BWP5.71	+32.7%
Average			+3.4%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.83	$0.88 BWP12.02	-32.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.78	$3.16 BWP43.42	-40.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.39	$5.47 BWP75.12	-19.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.57	$2.47 BWP33.83	-20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.27	$2.11 BWP28.88	-51.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$0.75 BWP10.31	-42.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.64 BWP8.75	-27.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$0.90 BWP12.38	-19.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$0.74 BWP10.15	-7.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$0.58 BWP7.97	+6.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$0.53 BWP7.25	-10.3%
Average			-25.6%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.7% more for transportation

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$5.15 BWP70.71	+119.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR140.01	$29.66 BWP406.91	-20.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$19,891.73 BWP273K	-42.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR68.00	$20.87 BWP286.32	+15.2%
Average			+6.7%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.6% less for housing

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.20	$42.10 BWP577.61	-41.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-70.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	-73.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.20	$45.63 BWP626.12	-44.3%
Average			-67.6%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of housing

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pay 75.7% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-76.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-75.3%
Average			-75.7%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$1.99 BWP27.29	-6.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.07	$2.32 BWP31.83	-45.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$3.62 BWP49.62	-53.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.52	$33.58 BWP460.78	-62.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR50.00	$6.15 BWP84.36	-53.9%
Average			-47.9%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.5% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Gaborone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.78	$47.53 BWP652.19	-18.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.65	$16.75 BWP229.75	-69.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR385.02	$72.33 BWP992.46	-29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR390.02	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	-24.6%
Average			-39.5%

Riyadh vs. Gaborone - 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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