Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Kuwait

Kuwait City vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Kuwait City is 17.5% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 25.7% more in Kuwait City
Groceries: pay 16.5% less in Kuwait City
Transportation: pay 21.8% less in Kuwait City
Housing: pay 27.8% less in Kuwait City
Childcare: pay 27.6% less in Kuwait City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.6% more in Kuwait City
Clothing: pay 21.5% less in Kuwait City

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

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Kuwait City vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuwait City instead of Riyadh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 25.7% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR29.99	$12.89 KWD4.010	+61.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR29.99	$8.86 KWD2.760	+10.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.72 KWD0.230	-17.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.30 KWD0.090	-3.7%
Average			+25.7%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.5% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.83	$1.50 KWD0.470	+16.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.77	$2.18 KWD0.680	-58.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.38	$6.08 KWD1.890	-10.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.57	$2.10 KWD0.650	-32.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.27	$3.02 KWD0.940	-30.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$1.11 KWD0.350	-14.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.86 KWD0.270	-1.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$0.82 KWD0.260	-26.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$0.69 KWD0.210	-13.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$0.61 KWD0.190	+11.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$0.66 KWD0.210	+12.1%
Average			-16.5%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.8% less for transportation

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.81	$1.28 KWD0.400	-45.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR139.97	$48.33 KWD15.040	+29.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$20,942.34 KWD6,516.380	-39.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR67.99	$30.61 KWD9.520	+68.9%
Average			-21.8%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.8% less for housing

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.13	$29.92 KWD9.310	-58.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,453.00	$924.68 KWD287.720	-22.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,127.91	$635.52 KWD197.750	-23.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.12	$50.13 KWD15.600	-38.8%
Average			-27.8%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of housing

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pay 27.6% less for childcare

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,991.25	$299.37 KWD93.150	-43.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,915.67	$9,387.00 KWD2,920.840	-7.1%
Average			-27.6%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$3.22 KWD1.000	+51.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.06	$5.21 KWD1.620	+21.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR28.99	$2.74 KWD0.850	-64.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.43	$122.83 KWD38.220	+36.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR49.99	$11.28 KWD3.510	-15.4%
Average			+5.6%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.5% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Kuwait City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.72	$37.59 KWD11.700	-35.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.59	$39.47 KWD12.280	-27.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR384.92	$97.66 KWD30.390	-4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR389.92	$88.60 KWD27.570	-14.7%
Average			-21.5%

Riyadh vs. Kuwait City - 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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See the cost of living in Saudi Arabia vs. Kuwait. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

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