Abu Dhabi vs Riyadh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Abu Dhabi Riyadh
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1936
$1642
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4876
$3429
🏠 One person rent
$1291
$996
🏘️ Family rent
$2811
$1477
🍽️ Food expenses
$427
$346
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.9
$162
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3588
$2566
😷 Air quality
Bad
Bad
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
52
71
😀 Quality of life
82
74
🏙️ Population
1.48M
7.01M

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 18% more expensive than in Riyadh. Cities ranked 1938th and 2922nd ($1936 vs $1642) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs Saudi Arabia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 1.6 months in Riyadh. Abu Dhabi ranked 4th best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Riyadh ranked 1st in Saudi Arabia, while ranked 369th and 1210th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Abu Dhabi vs Riyadh infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Abu Dhabi vs Riyadh

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

Abu Dhabi Riyadh
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$7.92
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$68.7
$53.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.78
$8.05
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$12.3
$1.87
 Cappuccino
$5.69
$4.36
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.27
$0.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1396
$1149
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$977
$792
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3226
$2059
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2329
$1124
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$121
$58.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$193
$91.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$109
$73.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.77%
5.3%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5079
$2076
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4566
$1301
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$1.06
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$21.7
$32.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.27
$15.8
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.82
$0.61
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.88
$1.67
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.29
$1.19
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$2.15
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.07
$2.56
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.89
$7.88
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.37
$7.66
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.3
$12.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.32
$2.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.71
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.98
$1.59
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.83
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.29
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.41
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.54
$1.89
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$4.02
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.45
$1.93
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.81
$7.27
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.3
$2.02
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.96
$4.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.19
$2
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.51
$5.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$74.4
$100
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.1
$17.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.6
$49.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.6
$10.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$72.1
$52.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$108
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$717
$358
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11210
$9649

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Abu Dhabi

Distance City Cost of living
117 km or 73 mi Madinat Zayed
$1673
129 km or 80 mi Dubai
$2229
142 km or 88 mi Sharjah
$1612
143 km or 89 mi Al Ain
$1132
152 km or 94 mi Ajman
$1841
170 km or 105 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1577
211 km or 131 mi Fujairah
$1191
237 km or 147 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1584
300 km or 187 mi Doha
$1872
318 km or 198 mi Al Khor
$1810
356 km or 221 mi Bandar Abbas
$758
365 km or 227 mi Nizwa
$787
395 km or 246 mi Seeb
$1164
425 km or 264 mi Riffa
$1285
427 km or 265 mi Manama
$1375
428 km or 266 mi Isa Town
$1327
439 km or 273 mi Muscat
$1126
454 km or 282 mi Jahrom
$798
468 km or 291 mi Dhahran
$959
481 km or 299 mi Dammam
$1005
486 km or 302 mi Al-Mubarraz
$768
501 km or 311 mi Fasa
$890
514 km or 320 mi Qatif
$868
548 km or 341 mi Jubail
$910
568 km or 353 mi Sirjan
$604
575 km or 357 mi Jiroft
$573
599 km or 372 mi Shiraz
$606
610 km or 379 mi Bushehr
$646
617 km or 384 mi Borazjan
$621
620 km or 385 mi Marvdasht
$604
632 km or 392 mi Kazerun
$606
637 km or 396 mi Chabahar
$779
649 km or 404 mi Bam
$544
678 km or 421 mi Rafsanjan
$530
698 km or 434 mi Kerman
$457
701 km or 435 mi Iranshahr
$672
741 km or 460 mi Yasuj
$561
775 km or 481 mi Riyadh
$1642
790 km or 491 mi Al Wafrah
$1256
792 km or 492 mi Behbahan
$541

Cities near Riyadh

Distance City Cost of living
310 km or 193 mi Al-Mubarraz
$768
316 km or 196 mi Unaizah
$1013
350 km or 217 mi Ar Rass
$860
389 km or 242 mi Dhahran
$959
394 km or 245 mi Dammam
$1005
395 km or 245 mi Jubail
$910
417 km or 259 mi Qatif
$868
420 km or 261 mi Riffa
$1285
421 km or 262 mi Isa Town
$1327
426 km or 265 mi Manama
$1375
460 km or 286 mi Al Wafrah
$1256
480 km or 298 mi As Sulayyil
$1085
491 km or 305 mi Doha
$1872
496 km or 308 mi Al Khor
$1810
540 km or 336 mi Kuwait City
$1424
595 km or 369 mi Ha'il
$996
611 km or 379 mi Umm Qasr
$708
618 km or 384 mi Al-Faw
$710
631 km or 392 mi Bushehr
$646
646 km or 401 mi Az Zubayr
$698
652 km or 405 mi Abadan
$543
658 km or 409 mi Basra
$875
659 km or 410 mi Khorramshahr
$540
668 km or 415 mi Bisha
$938
680 km or 423 mi Borazjan
$621
701 km or 436 mi Bandar-e Mahshahr
$544
713 km or 443 mi Madinat Zayed
$1673
714 km or 443 mi Nasiriyah
$671
719 km or 447 mi Medina
$892
737 km or 458 mi Kazerun
$606
747 km or 464 mi Behbahan
$541
754 km or 469 mi Samawah
$594
766 km or 476 mi Ahvaz
$559
775 km or 481 mi Abu Dhabi
$1936
790 km or 491 mi Mecca
$1032
798 km or 496 mi Shiraz
$606
800 km or 497 mi Amarah
$685
804 km or 499 mi Bareq
$920
804 km or 500 mi Jahrom
$798
823 km or 511 mi Yasuj
$561