Cost of living comparison

compared to

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 16.1% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% less in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 0.5% more in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 7.6% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 45.2% less in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 25.0% less in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.1% less in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 20.1% less in Saudi Arabia

The cost of transportation and groceries in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including housing, restaurants, childcare, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 AED29.06	$6.32 SAR23.70	-20.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.65 AED31.75	$7.73 SAR29.00	-10.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 AED3.83	$0.74 SAR2.79	-28.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 AED1.85	$0.27 SAR1.02	-45.9%
Average			-26.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.5% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 AED5.39	$0.92 SAR3.43	-37.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 AED19.68	$3.62 SAR13.56	-32.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.56	$6.74 SAR25.26	-3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 AED10.34	$2.52 SAR9.47	-10.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$3.28 SAR12.28	-11.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 AED3.59	$0.97 SAR3.63	-1.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 AED2.75	$0.78 SAR2.91	+3.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 AED2.69	$0.80 SAR3.00	+9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 AED2.15	$0.74 SAR2.77	+26.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.76	$0.66 SAR2.49	+38.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.93	$0.65 SAR2.43	+23.2%
Average			+0.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.6% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$2.32 SAR8.72	-20.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.10 AED195.00	$33.84 SAR126.92	-36.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	-36.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 AED31.21	$19.00 SAR71.26	+123.5%
Average			+7.6%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.2% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.41 AED372.42	$74.04 SAR277.70	-27.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	-69.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.79 AED3,638.67	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	-63.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.67 AED450.49	$97.42 SAR365.42	-20.6%
Average			-45.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

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pay 25.0% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.28 AED1,826.25	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	-29.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	-20.6%
Average			-25.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.43 AED38.31	$1.89 SAR7.09	-81.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.32	$3.48 SAR13.06	-30.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$7.47 SAR28.00	+19.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.55 AED277.45	$106.43 SAR399.18	+40.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.19 AED48.44	$17.24 SAR64.67	+30.7%
Average			-4.1%

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

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pay 20.1% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.04 AED275.58	$48.71 SAR182.69	-35.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.50 AED218.51	$57.50 SAR215.68	-3.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.66 AED388.03	$88.56 SAR332.16	-16.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.53 AED391.23	$79.17 SAR296.96	-25.7%
Average			-20.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - 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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