Dubai vs Riyadh - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Dubai Riyadh
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2420
$1632
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5315
$3539
🏠 One person rent
$1634
$946
🏘️ Family rent
$2835
$1446
🍽️ Food expenses
$459
$370
🚐 Transport expenses
$182
$183
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4093
$2285
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
6 km
21 km
🎓 Higher education
66
70
😀 Quality of life
90
78
🏙️ Population
3.94M
7.01M

The cost of living in Dubai is 48% more expensive than in Riyadh. Cities ranked 1039th and 3529th ($2420 vs $1632) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st 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 1.7 months in Dubai compared to 1.4 months in Riyadh. Dubai ranked 1st best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Riyadh ranked 1st in Saudi Arabia, while ranked 203rd and 879th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Dubai vs Riyadh

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

Dubai Riyadh
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$10.2
$8.06
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$69.2
$53.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.33
$7.94
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$13.5
$1.62
☕ Cappuccino
$6.31
$4.33
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.3
$0.79
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1988
$1000
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1244
$763
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3617
$1845
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2237
$1133
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$148
$63.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$227
$98.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$94
$72.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
4.46%
5.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7290
$2922
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4052
$1930
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.64
$1.08
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$83
$37.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.52
$18.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.75
$0.61
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.89
$1.61
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.39
$1.27
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$2.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.73
$2.69
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.2
$8.76
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.09
$9.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.6
$15.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.52
$2.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$1.68
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.23
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.07
$1.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.4
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.86
$2.39
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$18
$8.07
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.57
$1.77
🚬 Cigarette pack
$6.2
$7.34
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.2
$2.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.05
$4.31
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3
$2.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.08
$5.23
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$72.5
$93.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.1
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$75.5
$51.6
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.2
$8.02
👖 Brand Jeans
$72.2
$57
👟 Brand Sneakers
$106
$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$829
$495
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$16876
$9443

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dubai

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 8 mi Sharjah
$1473
22 km or 14 mi Ajman
$2183
41 km or 25 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1148
104 km or 65 mi Fujairah
$1214
108 km or 67 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1373
126 km or 78 mi Al Ain
$1457
129 km or 80 mi Abu Dhabi
$2070
234 km or 146 mi Bandar Abbas
$635
246 km or 153 mi Madinat Zayed
$1710
339 km or 211 mi Seeb
$1080
344 km or 214 mi Nizwa
$796
380 km or 236 mi Doha
$2014
380 km or 236 mi Muscat
$1135
385 km or 239 mi Al Khor
$1923
399 km or 248 mi Jahrom
$545
440 km or 273 mi Fasa
$541
449 km or 279 mi Jiroft
$575
466 km or 290 mi Sirjan
$545
485 km or 301 mi Manama
$1309
486 km or 302 mi Riffa
$1109
487 km or 303 mi Isa Town
$1192
523 km or 325 mi Bam
$563
528 km or 328 mi Dhahran
$931
534 km or 332 mi Chabahar
$575
537 km or 334 mi Dammam
$1037
554 km or 345 mi Shiraz
$565
560 km or 348 mi Qatif
$823
568 km or 353 mi Al-Mubarraz
$793
568 km or 353 mi Marvdasht
$547
574 km or 357 mi Rafsanjan
$613
578 km or 359 mi Iranshahr
$627
584 km or 363 mi Kerman
$761
595 km or 370 mi Jubail
$928
601 km or 373 mi Borazjan
$489
603 km or 375 mi Kazerun
$523
604 km or 375 mi Bushehr
$465
703 km or 437 mi Yasuj
$487
721 km or 448 mi Zahedan
$813
743 km or 461 mi Yazd
$565
773 km or 481 mi Behbahan
$492

Cities near Riyadh

Distance City Cost of living
310 km or 193 mi Al-Mubarraz
$793
316 km or 196 mi Unaizah
$931
350 km or 217 mi Ar Rass
$815
389 km or 242 mi Dhahran
$931
394 km or 245 mi Dammam
$1037
395 km or 245 mi Jubail
$928
417 km or 259 mi Qatif
$823
420 km or 261 mi Riffa
$1109
421 km or 262 mi Isa Town
$1192
426 km or 265 mi Manama
$1309
460 km or 286 mi Al Wafrah
$1281
480 km or 298 mi As Sulayyil
$1005
491 km or 305 mi Doha
$2014
496 km or 308 mi Al Khor
$1923
540 km or 336 mi Kuwait City
$1461
595 km or 369 mi Ha'il
$775
611 km or 379 mi Umm Qasr
$711
618 km or 384 mi Al-Faw
$707
631 km or 392 mi Bushehr
$465
646 km or 401 mi Az Zubayr
$698
652 km or 405 mi Abadan
$556
658 km or 409 mi Basra
$861
659 km or 410 mi Khorramshahr
$551
668 km or 415 mi Bisha
$906
680 km or 423 mi Borazjan
$489
701 km or 436 mi Bandar-e Mahshahr
$537
713 km or 443 mi Madinat Zayed
$1710
714 km or 443 mi Nasiriyah
$664
719 km or 447 mi Medina
$1168
737 km or 458 mi Kazerun
$523
747 km or 464 mi Behbahan
$492
754 km or 469 mi Samawah
$581
766 km or 476 mi Ahvaz
$571
775 km or 481 mi Abu Dhabi
$2070
790 km or 491 mi Mecca
$1107
798 km or 496 mi Shiraz
$565
800 km or 497 mi Amarah
$680
804 km or 499 mi Bareq
$893
804 km or 500 mi Jahrom
$545
823 km or 511 mi Yasuj
$487