Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary
Saudi Arabia is 27.9% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.4% less in Saudi Arabia
- Groceries
-
pay 0.9% more in Saudi Arabia
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% less in Saudi Arabia
- Housing
-
pay 53.3% less in Saudi Arabia
- Childcare
-
pay 4.5% less in Saudi Arabia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.3% less in Saudi Arabia
- Clothing
-
pay 10.1% less in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
pay 22.4% less for restaurants
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.43
AED30.94
|
$6.43
SAR24.15
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
$7.60
SAR28.53
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
AED3.94
|
$0.77
SAR2.90
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.45
AED1.66
|
$0.25
SAR0.94
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.9% more for groceries
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
$0.98
SAR3.69
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.94
AED18.13
|
$3.80
SAR14.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.75
AED24.78
|
$6.70
SAR25.16
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
$2.67
SAR10.01
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
AED13.51
|
$3.42
SAR12.84
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.97
AED3.58
|
$0.98
SAR3.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
AED2.80
|
$0.78
SAR2.93
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
AED2.65
|
$0.80
SAR2.99
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
AED2.13
|
$0.75
SAR2.81
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
AED1.75
|
$0.62
SAR2.32
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
AED1.74
|
$0.60
SAR2.27
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5% less for transportation
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.40
AED12.50
|
$2.35
SAR8.83
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$49.01
AED179.98
|
$35.96
SAR134.94
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
$44,549.24
SAR167K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.71
AED28.30
|
$20.52
SAR77.00
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation
pay 53.3% less for housing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
$68.86
SAR258.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
$633.54
SAR2,377.57
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
$465.22
SAR1,745.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
$73.68
SAR276.52
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing
pay 4.5% less for childcare
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
$419.94
SAR1,575.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
$8,565.65
SAR32,145.50
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare
pay 25.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.81
AED39.72
|
$1.91
SAR7.18
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
AED18.33
|
$3.43
SAR12.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
$6.94
SAR26.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.98
AED256.99
|
$98.19
SAR368.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.30
AED48.83
|
$15.24
SAR57.19
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.1% less for clothing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
$44.17
SAR165.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
$55.80
SAR209.42
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
$89.45
SAR335.69
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.82
AED348.22
|
$74.85
SAR280.89
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Saudi Arabia?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics
Be 40.1% more likely to be unemployed in Saudi Arabia
→
Size Comparison · See true size
United Arab Emirates is about 26 times smaller than Saudi Arabia.
→
Moving from United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.