Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Khobar and Qatif

For one person, living is cheaper in Qatif: $1,102 a month against $1,487 in Al Khobar, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

72

Cost of Living Index in Al Khobar
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Al Khobar Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Qatif
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Qatif Living Index

Jump to prices

Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,487

/mo nomad

Qatif

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,487 in Al Khobar versus $1,102 in Qatif.

Al Khobar $1,487
Qatif $1,102

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,252 in Al Khobar versus $1,640 in Qatif.

Al Khobar $2,252
Qatif $1,640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Al Khobar versus $2,178 in Qatif.

Al Khobar $3,016
Qatif $2,178

Living in Al Khobar is roughly 35% more expensive than in Qatif, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al Khobar is 9% above, Qatif is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.81 SAR 25.57

$3.50 SAR 13.15

94.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.9 SAR 225

$34.91 SAR 131

71.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.00 SAR 30.01

$6.52 SAR 24.48

22.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.61 SAR 9.80

$1.88 SAR 7.04

38.83%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 SAR 9.92

$2.24 SAR 8.39

17.86%

Cappuccino

$4.43 SAR 16.64

$3.10 SAR 11.62

42.90%

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

$0.87 SAR 3.26

$0.77 SAR 2.89

12.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 SAR 1.52

$0.19 SAR 0.72

110.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 SAR 6.36

$1.78 SAR 6.68

-5.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 SAR 4.76

$0.91 SAR 3.42

39.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 SAR 9.53

$1.92 SAR 7.20

32.29%

Eggs

$2.45 SAR 9.21

$2.10 SAR 7.89

16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.28 SAR 27.33

$5.90 SAR 22.14

23.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 SAR 38.14

$7.90 SAR 29.64

28.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.86 SAR 44.50

$12.64 SAR 47.44

-6.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 SAR 9.97

$2.29 SAR 8.58

16.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.36

$1.71 SAR 6.41

-1.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 SAR 7.66

$1.59 SAR 5.95

28.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 SAR 6.56

$0.67 SAR 2.52

161.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 SAR 5.27

$1.08 SAR 4.05

29.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 SAR 6.20

$1.13 SAR 4.26

46.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 SAR 6.55

$0.95 SAR 3.58

84.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 SAR 2.18

$0.55 SAR 2.07

5.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.73 SAR 10.26

$2.60 SAR 9.77

5.00%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.50 SAR 5.64

10.00%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 SAR 7.13

$2.21 SAR 8.31

-14.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.75 SAR 25.31

$6.26 SAR 23.48

7.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 SAR 3.55

$1.09 SAR 4.09

-12.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.9 SAR 232

$36.50 SAR 137

69.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 SAR 10.88

$2.46 SAR 9.22

17.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 SAR 9.89

$0.55 SAR 2.07

380.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.58 SAR 24.68

$13.24 SAR 49.70

-50.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.39

$0.61 SAR 2.29

4.92%

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

$67.8K SAR 254.5K

$29.1K SAR 109.1K

133.31%

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

$21.6K SAR 81.0K

$20.3K SAR 76.3K

6.18%

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

$99.4 SAR 373

$104 SAR 388

-4.00%

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

$33.37 SAR 125

$32.15 SAR 121

3.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.9 SAR 259

$59.3 SAR 222

16.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$81.3 SAR 305

$79.4 SAR 298

2.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.86 SAR 138

$21.38 SAR 80.2

72.40%

Cinema Ticket

$15.26 SAR 57.3

$13.07 SAR 49.03

16.76%

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

$607 SAR 2,279

$264 SAR 992

129.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,542 SAR 32.1K

$7,860 SAR 29.5K

8.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.4 SAR 238

$32.16 SAR 121

96.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$82.3 SAR 309

$21.10 SAR 79.2

289.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.8 SAR 367

$95.5 SAR 358

2.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.4 SAR 354

$90.7 SAR 340

4.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 SAR 2,876

$586 SAR 2,199

30.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$583 SAR 2,189

$374 SAR 1,402

56.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 SAR 4,678

$807 SAR 3,029

54.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 SAR 3,401

$578 SAR 2,171

56.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,456 SAR 5,464

$943 SAR 3,537

54.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 SAR 4,025

$796 SAR 2,987

34.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,877 SAR 7,045

$2,257 SAR 8,471

-16.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.88

5.5

6.91%

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

Last update for Al Khobar: October 24, 2026

Last update for Qatif: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al Khobar

$583 39.2%

Qatif

$374 33.9% 36% $210

Groceries & Markets

Al Khobar

$220 14.8%

Qatif

$185 16.8% 15.6% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Khobar

$202 13.6%

Qatif

$195 17.7% 3.3% $6.7

Clothing & Footwear

Al Khobar

$152 10.2%

Qatif

$108 9.8% 29.1% $44

Eating Out

Al Khobar

$137 9.2%

Qatif

$89 8% 35.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Al Khobar

$112 7.5%

Qatif

$106 9.6% 5.6% $6.3

Getting Around

Al Khobar

$82 5.5%

Qatif

$46 4.2% 43.7% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $766 in Al Khobar and $586 in Qatif. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qatif pays 20% 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 $35 in Qatif for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $185 per month, with Qatif cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Qatif

🕒 Local time

02:14 2:14 AM

Same time as Al Khobar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

219,679

87,332

💱 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

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Al Khobar Qatif 34 km

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Al Khobar
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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 Qatif: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Qatif wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Al Khobar. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Qatif the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 17% 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 $586 in Qatif. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Childcare runs $607 in Al Khobar versus $264 in Qatif. 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 Qatif 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 Qatif are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Qatif gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Al Khobar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.