Cost of living comparison

compared to

Gaborone vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 25.5% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants
pay 19.4% more in Gaborone
Groceries
pay 15.4% less in Gaborone
Transportation
pay 10.4% more in Gaborone
Housing
pay 55.7% less in Gaborone
Childcare
pay 65.8% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports
pay 39.6% less in Gaborone
Clothing
pay 31.8% less in Gaborone

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

Gaborone vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

pay 19.4% more for restaurants

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.00
SAR30.00
$10.33
BWP147.32
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
SAR30.00
$6.01
BWP85.71
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.75
SAR2.82
$0.82
BWP11.68

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pay 15.4% less for groceries

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Bread
1 loaf
$1.31
SAR4.91
$0.86
BWP12.24
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.27
SAR16.00
$3.42
BWP48.81
Milk (1 gallon) $6.23
SAR23.37
$5.53
BWP78.90

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pay 10.4% more for transportation

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.31
SAR8.65
$4.28
BWP61.12
Monthly public transit pass $37.33
SAR140.01
$30.79
BWP439.28
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
$20,652.69
BWP294,641.57

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pay 55.7% less for housing

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$74.49
SAR279.42
$52.19
BWP744.64
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
$262.85
BWP3,749.98
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $846.11
SAR3,173.60
$160.93
BWP2,295.91

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pay 65.8% less for childcare

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $461.83
SAR1,732.23
$147.01
BWP2,097.31
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
$3,593.57
BWP51,267.63

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pay 39.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.87
SAR7.00
$2.25
BWP32.14
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.10
SAR15.39
$2.30
BWP32.75
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.33
SAR27.50
$3.68
BWP52.50

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pay 31.8% less for clothing

 
Riyadh
Gaborone
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$59.01
SAR221.34
$46.00
BWP656.25
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.27
SAR241.07
$24.41
BWP348.21
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.52
SAR414.53
$71.82
BWP1,024.55

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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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