Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Khobar and Buraydah

For one person, living is cheaper in Buraydah: $1,226 a month against $1,487 in Al Khobar, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Al Khobar outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

72

Cost of Living Index in Al Khobar
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Al Khobar Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Buraydah
Learn more

Buraydah Living Index

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Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,487

/mo nomad

Buraydah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Buraydah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,487 in Al Khobar versus $1,226 in Buraydah.

Al Khobar $1,487
Buraydah $1,226

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,252 in Al Khobar versus $2,036 in Buraydah.

Al Khobar $2,252
Buraydah $2,036

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Al Khobar versus $2,845 in Buraydah.

Al Khobar $3,016
Buraydah $2,845

Living in Al Khobar is roughly 21% more expensive than in Buraydah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al Khobar is 9% above, Buraydah is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.81 SAR 25.57

$13.15 SAR 49.35

-48.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.9 SAR 225

$39.53 SAR 148

51.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.00 SAR 30.00

$7.99 SAR 29.99

0.13%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.61 SAR 9.80

$1.88 SAR 7.07

38.83%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 SAR 9.92

$1.31 SAR 4.91

101.53%

Cappuccino

$4.43 SAR 16.64

$3.54 SAR 13.27

25.14%

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

$0.87 SAR 3.26

$0.79 SAR 2.96

10.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 SAR 1.52

$0.26 SAR 0.97

53.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 SAR 6.36

$1.67 SAR 6.25

1.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 SAR 4.76

$1.10 SAR 4.14

15.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 SAR 9.53

$2.53 SAR 9.51

0.40%

Eggs

$2.45 SAR 9.21

$2.89 SAR 10.83

-15.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.28 SAR 27.33

$8.31 SAR 31.19

-12.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 SAR 38.14

$6.57 SAR 24.64

54.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.86 SAR 44.50

$13.54 SAR 50.8

-12.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 SAR 9.97

$2.28 SAR 8.57

16.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.36

$1.83 SAR 6.87

-7.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 SAR 7.66

$1.74 SAR 6.53

17.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 SAR 6.56

$1.75 SAR 6.58

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 SAR 5.27

$1.40 SAR 5.25

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 SAR 6.20

$1.30 SAR 4.88

26.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 SAR 6.55

$1.05 SAR 3.94

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 SAR 2.18

$0.67 SAR 2.52

-13.43%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.73 SAR 10.26

$1.81 SAR 6.81

50.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.48 SAR 5.54

11.49%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 SAR 7.13

$2.58 SAR 9.68

-26.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.75 SAR 25.31

$6.23 SAR 23.36

8.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 SAR 3.55

$1.08 SAR 4.05

-12.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.9 SAR 232

$37.57 SAR 141

64.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 SAR 10.88

$2.62 SAR 9.85

10.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 SAR 9.89

$2.70 SAR 10.13

-2.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.58 SAR 24.68

$16.75 SAR 62.9

-60.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.39

$0.59 SAR 2.22

8.47%

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

$67.8K SAR 254.5K

$42.2K SAR 158.4K

60.68%

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

$21.6K SAR 81.0K

$23.0K SAR 86.2K

-6.01%

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

$99.4 SAR 373

$69.9 SAR 262

42.12%

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

$33.37 SAR 125

$31.54 SAR 118

5.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.9 SAR 259

$70.1 SAR 263

-1.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$81.3 SAR 305

$138 SAR 517

-41.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.86 SAR 138

$35.66 SAR 134

3.37%

Cinema Ticket

$15.26 SAR 57.3

$15.09 SAR 56.6

1.13%

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

$607 SAR 2,279

$269 SAR 1,010

125.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,542 SAR 32.1K

$3,800 SAR 14.3K

124.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 SAR 238

$52.1 SAR 196

21.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$82.3 SAR 309

$54.4 SAR 204

51.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 SAR 367

$80.4 SAR 301

21.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 SAR 354

$70.9 SAR 266

33.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 SAR 2,876

$700 SAR 2,628

9.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$583 SAR 2,189

$332 SAR 1,245

75.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 SAR 4,678

$905 SAR 3,397

37.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 SAR 3,400

$827 SAR 3,104

9.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,456 SAR 5,463

$1,949 SAR 7,313

-25.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 SAR 4,024

$1,335 SAR 5,008

-19.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,877 SAR 7,045

$2,467 SAR 9,256

-23.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.88

3.98

47.74%

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

Last update for Al Khobar: October 24, 2026

Last update for Buraydah: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al Khobar

$583 39.2%

Buraydah

$332 27.1% 43.1% $252

Groceries & Markets

Al Khobar

$220 14.8%

Buraydah

$205 16.7% 6.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Khobar

$202 13.6%

Buraydah

$172 14% 14.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Al Khobar

$152 10.2%

Buraydah

$116 9.5% 23.7% $36

Eating Out

Al Khobar

$137 9.2%

Buraydah

$176 14.3% 28.5% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Al Khobar

$112 7.5%

Buraydah

$168 13.7% 50.2% $56

Getting Around

Al Khobar

$82 5.5%

Buraydah

$58 4.7% 29.1% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $766 in Al Khobar and $700 in Buraydah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buraydah pays 31% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60 in Al Khobar vs $40 in Buraydah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $205 per month, with Buraydah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Buraydah

🕒 Local time

01:56 1:56 AM

Same time as Al Khobar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

219,679

467,410

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al Khobar Buraydah 620 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Al Khobar
Buraydah

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 Buraydah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buraydah wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Al Khobar. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Buraydah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Al Khobar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $766 in Al Khobar versus $700 in Buraydah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Buraydah runs roughly 39% less than in Al Khobar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $607 in Al Khobar versus $269 in Buraydah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Buraydah is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Buraydah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Buraydah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Al Khobar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.