Abu Dhabi vs Muscat - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Abu Dhabi	Muscat
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1942	$1081
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4262	$2496
🏠 One person rent	$1271	$532
🏘️ Family rent	$2152	$885
🍽️ Food expenses	$453	$333
🚐 Transport expenses	$77.2	$114
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3050	$1722
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	31 km
🎓 Higher education	53	43
😀 Quality of life	85	75
🏙️ Population	1.57M	1.42M

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 80% more expensive than in Muscat. Cities ranked 2187th and 5037th ($1942 vs $1081) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs Oman comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 1.6 months in Muscat. Abu Dhabi ranked 3rd best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Muscat ranked 1st in Oman, while ranked 443rd and 1796th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Abu Dhabi vs Muscat infographic

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Prices in Abu Dhabi vs Muscat

Prices for goods and services in Abu Dhabi and Muscat are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Abu Dhabi	Muscat
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$10.9	$5.15
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$67.6	$26.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.53	$7.86
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$11.7	$13
☕ Cappuccino	$5.6	$4.79
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.34	$1.14
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1358	$555
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1002	$357
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2476	$1015
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1762	$641
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$95.6	$66.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$146	$101
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$102	$68.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.01%	5.39%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5485	$1488
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$12028	$1333
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.68	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$25.9	$65.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.63	$9.08
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.78	$0.62
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.97	$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.59	$1.18
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.37	$1.58
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.63	$2.61
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$3.82
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.07	$5.82
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.4	$9.19
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.54	$2.75
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.79	$1.75
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$2.01
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$1.19
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.18	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.44	$1.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.41	$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.41	$2.04
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$13.7	$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.54	$3.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$6.29	$6.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.83	$5.41
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.95	$5.3
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.73	$2.15
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$5.92	$4.44
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$62.4	$50.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.5	$10.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$78.5	$37.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.9	$8.86
👖 Brand Jeans	$59.4	$59.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$94.3	$83.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$598	$197
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$12663	$11063

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Abu Dhabi

Distance	City	Cost of living
117 km or 73 mi	Madinat Zayed	$1730
129 km or 80 mi	Dubai	$2514
142 km or 88 mi	Sharjah	$1419
143 km or 89 mi	Al Ain	$1449
152 km or 94 mi	Ajman	$2521
170 km or 105 mi	Umm al-Quwain	$1183
211 km or 131 mi	Fujairah	$1228
237 km or 147 mi	Ras al-Khaimah	$1398
300 km or 187 mi	Doha	$1849
318 km or 198 mi	Al Khor	$1770
356 km or 221 mi	Bandar Abbas	$632
365 km or 227 mi	Nizwa	$792
395 km or 246 mi	Seeb	$1078
425 km or 264 mi	Riffa	$1201
427 km or 265 mi	Manama	$1237
428 km or 266 mi	Isa Town	$1230
439 km or 273 mi	Muscat	$1081
454 km or 282 mi	Jahrom	$530
468 km or 291 mi	Dhahran	$908
481 km or 299 mi	Dammam	$1008
486 km or 302 mi	Al-Mubarraz	$806
501 km or 311 mi	Fasa	$529
514 km or 320 mi	Qatif	$873
548 km or 341 mi	Jubail	$930
568 km or 353 mi	Sirjan	$534
575 km or 357 mi	Jiroft	$568
599 km or 372 mi	Shiraz	$553
610 km or 379 mi	Bushehr	$453
617 km or 384 mi	Borazjan	$477
620 km or 385 mi	Marvdasht	$530
632 km or 392 mi	Kazerun	$503
637 km or 396 mi	Chabahar	$573
649 km or 404 mi	Bam	$557
678 km or 421 mi	Rafsanjan	$604
698 km or 434 mi	Kerman	$761
701 km or 435 mi	Iranshahr	$624
741 km or 460 mi	Yasuj	$463
775 km or 481 mi	Riyadh	$1627
790 km or 491 mi	Al Wafrah	$1283
792 km or 492 mi	Behbahan	$483

Cities near Muscat

Distance	City	Cost of living
44 km or 27 mi	Seeb	$1078
132 km or 82 mi	Nizwa	$792
277 km or 172 mi	Chabahar	$573
284 km or 177 mi	Fujairah	$1228
297 km or 184 mi	Al Ain	$1449
356 km or 221 mi	Ras al-Khaimah	$1398
372 km or 231 mi	Ajman	$2521
375 km or 233 mi	Umm al-Quwain	$1183
377 km or 235 mi	Sharjah	$1419
380 km or 236 mi	Dubai	$2514
439 km or 273 mi	Abu Dhabi	$1942
451 km or 280 mi	Iranshahr	$624
463 km or 288 mi	Bandar Abbas	$632
503 km or 313 mi	Madinat Zayed	$1730
569 km or 354 mi	Jiroft	$568
611 km or 380 mi	Bam	$557
691 km or 429 mi	Zahedan	$808
711 km or 442 mi	Sirjan	$534
739 km or 459 mi	Doha	$1849
740 km or 460 mi	Jahrom	$530
752 km or 467 mi	Al Khor	$1770
757 km or 470 mi	Kerman	$761
770 km or 479 mi	Fasa	$529
797 km or 495 mi	Rafsanjan	$604
858 km or 533 mi	Riffa	$1201
858 km or 533 mi	Manama	$1237
860 km or 534 mi	Isa Town	$1230
865 km or 537 mi	Karachi	$430
870 km or 541 mi	Salalah	$817
873 km or 543 mi	Zabol	$558
898 km or 558 mi	Shiraz	$553
901 km or 560 mi	Dhahran	$908
902 km or 561 mi	Marvdasht	$530
911 km or 566 mi	Dammam	$1008
926 km or 575 mi	Al-Mubarraz	$806
938 km or 583 mi	Qatif	$873
960 km or 596 mi	Kazerun	$503
966 km or 600 mi	Borazjan	$477
973 km or 604 mi	Jubail	$930
976 km or 606 mi	Bushehr	$453