Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Khobar and Al Mubarraz

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Mubarraz: $1,251 a month against $1,471 in Al Khobar, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Al Khobar
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Al Khobar Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Al Mubarraz
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Al Mubarraz Living Index

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Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,471

/mo nomad

Al Mubarraz

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al Khobar and in Al Mubarraz

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al Khobar and in Al Mubarraz actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,471 in Al Khobar versus $1,251 in Al Mubarraz.

Al Khobar $1,471
Al Mubarraz $1,251

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,231 in Al Khobar versus $1,894 in Al Mubarraz.

Al Khobar $2,231
Al Mubarraz $1,894

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,991 in Al Khobar versus $2,538 in Al Mubarraz.

Al Khobar $2,991
Al Mubarraz $2,538

Living in Al Khobar is roughly 18% more expensive than in Al Mubarraz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al Khobar is 9% above, Al Mubarraz is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.74 SAR 25.29

$7.36 SAR 27.64

-8.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 SAR 226

$36.62 SAR 137

64.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 SAR 30.57

$8.00 SAR 30.03

1.75%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.60 SAR 9.76

$2.08 SAR 7.80

25.00%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 SAR 10.03

$2.10 SAR 7.89

27.14%

Cappuccino

$4.35 SAR 16.33

$4.47 SAR 16.76

-2.68%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 SAR 3.54

$0.67 SAR 2.52

40.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 SAR 1.53

$0.28 SAR 1.06

46.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.73 SAR 6.50

-4.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 SAR 4.67

$1.33 SAR 4.99

-6.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 SAR 9.24

$2.47 SAR 9.27

-0.40%

Eggs

$2.35 SAR 8.81

$2.99 SAR 11.21

-21.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.42 SAR 27.87

$10.63 SAR 39.90

-30.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.09 SAR 37.87

$9.59 SAR 36.01

5.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.69 SAR 43.86

$14.99 SAR 56.3

-22.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 SAR 10.20

$2.93 SAR 10.98

-7.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.40

$1.88 SAR 7.06

-9.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 SAR 7.43

$2.51 SAR 9.41

-21.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 SAR 6.52

$1.78 SAR 6.69

-2.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 SAR 5.33

$1.17 SAR 4.38

21.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.25

$1.33 SAR 4.99

25.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.76 SAR 6.59

-6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SAR 2.01

$0.58 SAR 2.17

-8.62%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.62 SAR 9.82

$2.98 SAR 11.19

-12.08%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 SAR 5.92

$1.76 SAR 6.59

-10.23%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 SAR 7.03

$2.49 SAR 9.33

-24.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 SAR 25.50

$7.59 SAR 28.48

-10.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 SAR 3.49

$1.02 SAR 3.82

-8.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.5 SAR 204

$32.07 SAR 120

69.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.76 SAR 6.61

$3.27 SAR 12.27

-46.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 SAR 10.07

$1.89 SAR 7.09

41.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.22 SAR 53.4

$13.53 SAR 50.8

5.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 SAR 2.38

$0.64 SAR 2.40

-1.56%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$66.8K SAR 250.9K

$26.3K SAR 98.7K

154.12%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.4K SAR 80.3K

$21.8K SAR 81.8K

-1.82%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$96.9 SAR 364

$107 SAR 402

-9.45%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$32.58 SAR 122

$29.24 SAR 110

11.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.3 SAR 256

$70.4 SAR 264

-2.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.1 SAR 301

$78.5 SAR 295

1.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.17 SAR 136

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 SAR 57.1

$13.68 SAR 51.3

11.26%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$599 SAR 2,249

$552 SAR 2,073

8.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K SAR 69.9K

$16.5K SAR 62.0K

12.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.5 SAR 238

$57.6 SAR 216

10.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$83.0 SAR 311

$54.6 SAR 205

51.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 SAR 366

$103 SAR 386

-5.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.8 SAR 356

$104 SAR 392

-9.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$762 SAR 2,860

$557 SAR 2,092

36.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 SAR 2,192

$363 SAR 1,363

60.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 SAR 4,602

$914 SAR 3,432

34.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$912 SAR 3,424

$611 SAR 2,293

49.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,437 SAR 5,392

$1,728 SAR 6,485

-16.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,037 SAR 3,894

$1,143 SAR 4,289

-9.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,872 SAR 7,028

$1,069 SAR 4,011

75.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.88

5.54

6.14%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Al Khobar: November 3, 2026

Last update for Al Mubarraz: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Al Khobar

$584 39.7%

Al Mubarraz

$363 29% 37.8% $221

Groceries & Markets

Al Khobar

$217 14.8%

Al Mubarraz

$242 19.4% 11.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Khobar

$198 13.4%

Al Mubarraz

$207 16.5% 4.5% $8.8

Clothing & Footwear

Al Khobar

$152 10.4%

Al Mubarraz

$144 11.5% 5.7% $8.7

Eating Out

Al Khobar

$136 9.2%

Al Mubarraz

$140 11.2% 3.2% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Al Khobar

$111 7.5%

Al Mubarraz

$106 8.5% 4.2% $4.6

Getting Around

Al Khobar

$73 5%

Al Mubarraz

$49 3.9% 33.4% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $762 in Al Khobar and $557 in Al Mubarraz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Khobar pays 75% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Al Khobar vs $37 in Al Mubarraz. Groceries flip the comparison at $217 vs $242, with Al Khobar cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Al Mubarraz

🕒 Local time

18:35 6:35 PM

Same time as Al Khobar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

219,679

290,802

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Al Khobar Al Mubarraz 120 km

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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al Khobar vs Al Mubarraz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al Mubarraz wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Al Khobar. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Al Mubarraz the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 75% higher in Al Khobar, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $762 in Al Khobar versus $557 in Al Mubarraz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Al Mubarraz runs roughly 41% less than in Al Khobar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $599 in Al Khobar versus $552 in Al Mubarraz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al Mubarraz gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Al Khobar and Al Mubarraz are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Al Mubarraz wins on affordability, Al Khobar on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.