Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 47.3% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% more in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 5.2% more in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 21.2% more in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 33.8% more in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 85.2% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 27.9% more in United Arab Emirates

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, childcare, clothing, and transportation in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Saudi Arabia. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.32 SAR23.70	$7.91 AED29.06	+25.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$8.65 AED31.75	+11.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.79	$1.04 AED3.83	+40.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 SAR1.02	$0.50 AED1.85	+84.8%
Average			+40.5%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.2% more for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 SAR3.43	$1.47 AED5.39	+60.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 SAR13.56	$5.36 AED19.68	+48.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.74 SAR25.26	$6.96 AED25.56	+3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 SAR9.47	$2.81 AED10.34	+11.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 SAR12.28	$3.68 AED13.51	+12.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 SAR3.63	$0.98 AED3.59	+1.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.91	$0.75 AED2.75	-3.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR3.00	$0.73 AED2.69	-8.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$0.59 AED2.15	-20.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$0.48 AED1.76	-27.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 SAR2.43	$0.53 AED1.93	-18.9%
Average			+5.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.2% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.32 SAR8.72	$2.91 AED10.69	+25.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.84 SAR126.92	$53.10 AED195.00	+56.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	+57.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.00 SAR71.26	$8.50 AED31.21	-55.3%
Average			+21.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.04 SAR277.70	$101.41 AED372.42	+37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	+230.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	$990.79 AED3,638.67	+175.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.42 SAR365.42	$122.67 AED450.49	+25.9%
Average			+117.1%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 33.8% more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	$497.28 AED1,826.25	+41.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	+25.9%
Average			+33.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 85.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.89 SAR7.09	$10.43 AED38.31	+452.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 SAR13.06	$4.99 AED18.32	+43.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.47 SAR28.00	$6.23 AED22.88	-16.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.43 SAR399.18	$75.55 AED277.45	-29.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.24 SAR64.67	$13.19 AED48.44	-23.5%
Average			+85.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.9% more for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.71 SAR182.69	$75.04 AED275.58	+54.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50 SAR215.68	$59.50 AED218.51	+3.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.56 SAR332.16	$105.66 AED388.03	+19.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.17 SAR296.96	$106.53 AED391.23	+34.6%
Average			+27.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing

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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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