Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Bahrain

Manama vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

Manama is 9.1% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 19.3% less in Manama
Groceries: pay 15.8% less in Manama
Transportation: pay 11.0% more in Manama
Housing: pay 14.4% less in Manama
Childcare: pay 0.3% more in Manama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.4% more in Manama
Clothing: pay 9.0% less in Manama

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

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Manama vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.3% less for restaurants

	Riyadh	Manama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR30.01	$5.30 BHD2.000	-33.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR30.01	$7.43 BHD2.800	-7.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.86 BHD0.330	-1.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.31 BHD0.120	-2.3%
Average			-19.3%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.8% less for groceries

	Riyadh	Manama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.84	$1.08 BHD0.410	-15.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.79	$4.33 BHD1.630	-17.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.40	$5.35 BHD2.020	-20.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.58	$2.27 BHD0.850	-26.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.28	$2.95 BHD1.110	-32.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$1.06 BHD0.400	-18.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$1.04 BHD0.390	+18.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$0.87 BHD0.330	-23.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$0.64 BHD0.240	-19.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$0.47 BHD0.180	-14.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$0.63 BHD0.240	+7.2%
Average			-15.8%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.0% more for transportation

	Riyadh	Manama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$2.53 BHD0.950	+7.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR140.06	$37.13 BHD14.000	-0.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$37,115.81 BHD13,996.040	+7.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR68.03	$32.88 BHD12.400	+81.5%
Average			+11.0%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.4% less for housing

	Riyadh	Manama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.31	$35.14 BHD13.250	-51.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,456.00	$995.34 BHD375.330	-16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,130.02	$645.13 BHD243.270	-22.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.33	$117.06 BHD44.140	+43.0%
Average			-14.4%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of housing

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pay 0.3% more for childcare

	Riyadh	Manama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,992.59	$489.38 BHD184.540	-7.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,941.20	$11,017.71 BHD4,154.680	+9.0%
Average			+0.3%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	Manama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$6.63 BHD2.500	+211.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.07	$4.94 BHD1.860	+15.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR29.01	$5.30 BHD2.000	-31.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.66	$62.98 BHD23.750	-30.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR50.02	$10.61 BHD4.000	-20.4%
Average			+7.4%

Riyadh vs. Manama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.0% less for clothing

	Riyadh	Manama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.87	$51.08 BHD19.260	-12.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.73	$57.58 BHD21.710	+6.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR385.18	$87.84 BHD33.130	-14.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR390.18	$89.50 BHD33.750	-13.9%
Average			-9.0%

Riyadh vs. Manama - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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