Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 5.7% cheaper than Riyadh.

Restaurants: pay 0.2% more in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 30.9% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 22.2% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 13.1% less in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 62.2% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.4% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 6.7% more in San Salvador

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

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San Salvador vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Riyadh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.2% more for restaurants

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.99 SAR30.00	$6.75 SVC59.06	-15.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.99 SAR30.00	$7.00 SVC61.25	-12.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$1.14 SVC10.01	+30.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 SAR1.18	$0.83 SVC7.29	+165.8%
Average			+0.2%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.9% more for groceries

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SAR4.83	$2.85 SVC24.94	+121.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 SAR19.78	$3.85 SVC33.72	-26.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.76 SAR25.39	$6.95 SVC60.81	+2.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.08 SAR11.57	$3.02 SVC26.39	-2.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.34 SAR16.27	$3.16 SVC27.66	-27.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 SAR4.88	$2.29 SVC20.07	+76.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 SAR3.28	$0.63 SVC5.54	-27.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.13 SAR4.23	$1.18 SVC10.35	+5.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$1.56 SVC13.68	+96.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 SAR2.04	$1.33 SVC11.65	+144.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 SAR2.21	$1.49 SVC13.05	+153.1%
Average			+30.9%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.2% more for transportation

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.82	$4.75 SVC41.60	+102.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.31 SAR140.01	$37.50 SVC328.13	+0.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,642.08 SAR130K	$25,000.00 SVC219K	-27.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.12 SAR68.00	$30.00 SVC262.50	+65.6%
Average			+22.2%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.1% less for housing

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.73 SAR269.20	$42.50 SVC371.88	-40.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	-24.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	-7.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$81.86 SAR307.20	$99.35 SVC869.35	+21.4%
Average			-13.1%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 62.2% less for childcare

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	-69.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	-53.3%
Average			-62.2%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.13 SAR8.00	$2.00 SVC17.50	-6.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.28 SAR16.07	$3.55 SVC31.02	-17.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$4.00 SVC35.00	-48.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$89.94 SAR337.52	$31.60 SVC276.50	-64.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.32 SAR50.00	$5.00 SVC43.75	-62.5%
Average			-46.4%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.7% more for clothing

	Riyadh	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.30 SAR218.78	$67.15 SVC587.57	+15.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$54.26 SAR203.65	$47.00 SVC411.25	-13.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 SAR385.02	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	+15.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.93 SAR390.02	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	+12.6%
Average			+6.7%

Riyadh vs. San Salvador - 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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